Citrus Trap
by Killerchainsaw
Summary: Two highschool girls are sent to meet Mei Aihara, knowing little to nothing about her, other than the fact that they are meant to be helping the President out with 'certain relationship problems', however Yuzu and Mei just might find that they could help these two girls with their own relationship problems. A Citrus and Netsuzou Trap crossover, hope you enjoy. ;)
1. Strangers

**Author's Notes: **

**I don't own Citrus or Netsuzou Trap, or any of their characters, no copyright is intended!**

 **This is a crossover story with Citrus and NTR by the way. ;)**

 _Italics - Means the person is thinking just so you know.  
_

 **Warning: This contains yuri (girl x girl) pairings as well as pseudo-incest, don't like? Don't read simple, otherwise enjoy. ^_^ **

**...**

Just like any other day a petrol around the school before classes started was normal for Himeko Momokino, in fact by now it was part of her daily routine. She was the Student Council, vice-President after all, which meant that it was her job to make sure none of the students were hanging out on the rooftop, or were planning on missing going to lessons, or were possibly going against other school rules.

However today was different than every other morning, normally the Student Council President would be walking alongside Himeko, while they would both be on petrol, but today unfortunately the President had said that she couldn't come along this morning, since she had some work she needed to finish, plus she also needed to prepare for a Student Council meeting that was coming up soon.

Himeko sighed deeply as she walked around the school hallways with her head hanging a little low, as she normally took much joy out of these early morning patrols with the President, but knowing that Mei was busy this morning, it was better for her to just put her thoughts of missing the dark haired girl to the back of her mind for now.

Himeko took a deep breath and lifted her head up, nodding to herself, as she knew there was still a job she had to take care of, even if she was alone for it this morning. However since this was an all-girls school, there wasn't much for the vice-President to look out for, and considering the fact that she hadn't seen a certain blonde girl as of yet, she guessed this morning's petrol would no doubt be quite boring and uneventful.

Giving out another sigh as she came to the entrance of the school, looking around as she noticed for some reason a lot of the school's students were standing around and whispering to one another, hanging around the front gates, and the entrance of the school building, while it seemed like they were all looking to the school gates.

Raising her eyebrow slightly Himeko looked around, and thought about going up to one of the students and asking what was causing them all to gather here when classes were going to be starting soon. However in a few seconds she got her answer as she walked out to the front of the school, and looked to the front gates, her eyes widened as she saw two young girls that weren't wearing the school uniform, and seemed to be very out of place, as they stood talking to each other, while all the students moved around them slowly, avoiding talking to them.

The two girls looked to be around high school age, but definitely didn't attend this school, which made Himeko think that maybe they had gotten lost or something. Walking up to the two girls, Himeko called out to them, catching their attention.

"Excuse me, is there something I could help you with, you two aren't students here right?" Himeko asked politely, giving the two girls a kind smile as she looked them up and down.

The two girls had stopped talking, looking to each other for a moment, before they both looked back to Himeko, and one of them replied back to her.

"Err that's correct, we don't go here,"

"We're actually just looking for someone," the other girl chimed in, a polite smile forming on her lips as she greeted Himeko.

"Ah I see, I'm the Student Council vice-President at this school, and I would be happy to help you. What is this person's name, do they go to school here?" Himeko asked politely, guessing that the two girls were probably friends or maybe even relatives of someone at the school, and they had come here looking for them.

The two girls looked to each other again, before one of them answered.

"Well we were told that they go to school here, and I believe their name is…" the girl paused as she glanced to the other girl standing beside her, looking like she needed help on remembering the name of this person they had come looking for.

"Her name is Aihara Mei, do you know her?" the other girl finished.

Himeko's eyes widened a little as she was surprised to hear the Student Council President's full name, and instantly wondered how these two girls knew her, when she had never heard the President talk or mention anything about either of them before.

"Y-yes…s-she's the Student Council President here, how do you two know her, if you don't mind me asking that is? Himeko asked nervously, feeling curious as to who exactly these two girls were, and how they knew the President.

"I'm Mizushina Hotaru, and this is Okasaki Yuma," the girl with long black hair introduced herself, pointing to her blonde friend, while she smiled politely to Himeko.

"It's nice to meet you, and a friend of Hotaru's told us to come here and meet Aihara-san," the blonde girl stated with a nod.

"It's nice to meet you too, I'm Momokino Himeko, and you see…the President is quite busy this morning, what business do you have with her, is it urgent?" Himeko asked wondering why this 'friend' of the dark haired girl had told them to come to the school and not the house where Mei lives.

"Oh if she's busy then we can just-

"Yes it is very urgent, it's actually a family matter," Hotaru interrupted Yuma, as she caused the blonde to frown slightly, while Himeko looked a little taken aback.

"Is this friend of your's a relative to the President?"

"Yes, but she lives a little too far away, and so had us come to talk to her instead,"

Hotaru explained, while Himeko nodded, thinking that maybe there was a problem with Mei's Grandfather's health or something similar, and that's maybe why these two girls had been sent to talk to the President about it.

"Well I'm not sure if she's done with her work or not, but if it's that important, then I'll show you to the Student Council room, she should still be in there,"

Himeko stated, knowing not to ask too much about the details, since she didn't want to pry into Mei's private life, and she doubted these two girls would tell her about what was going since it was a 'family matter' after all.

"That would be most helpful, thank you Momokino-san," Hotaru smiled brightly, before Himeko nodded back to her and smiled in return.

"Follow me then,"

Himeko replied, as she turned and started to lead the way, while now most of the students had walked into the school, deciding to get ready to go to their classes, since it seemed like the vice-President was taking care of everything now.

Taking a step forward Hotaru was going to follow Himeko, but was stopped as Yuma tugged on her shirt, a slight frown on her lips.

"Hotaru, why'd you lie like that? We aren't here because of a family matter," Yuma scolded her dark haired friend, as she stared sternly to her.

"Well she doesn't know that, besides she probably wouldn't have let us see Aihara-san if we said that it wasn't urgent, and then how else would we have gotten the chance to talk with her?"

Hotaru talked in a low voice, smiling to Yuma slightly, as the two girls whispered to each other, while they followed the vice-President into the school, but kept a little bit of a distance between her and them, so that she wouldn't hear them whispering.

"… okay you might actually have a point there,"

Yuma agreed after a short pause, realising that although lying seemed wrong here, she too agreed that they probably wouldn't have been able to talk to this girl any other way, since they didn't know where she lived, or anything else really about her, except for her name, age, what school she went to, and the fact that she needed Hotaru's help with something or other, and that was it.

"We can apologise for lying later, after we meet this girl," Hotaru just smiled innocently, before she picked up speed a little, and Yuma quickly followed after her, deciding to just let this slide for now.

….

Walking through the hallways of the school Hotaru and Yuma followed Himeko, getting a few slight stares from random students that were hanging around outside their classrooms, waiting for lessons to start.

"So what did this friend of your's say you were supposed to help this girl with again?" Yuma asked, speaking in a whispering tone, as she felt a little nervous about walking through this unfamiliar school, while all the staring students were making her feel uncomfortable.

"Well she wasn't clear about it, but she thought I'd be able to help her with her relationship if I remember correctly," Hotaru explained, whispering back.

"And the reason you brought me along was because?"

"Because you're my best friend, and I'd be lonely without you, besides maybe you can help this girl out as well,"

Hotaru smiled innocently, knowing that bringing Yuma along wasn't really something that her friend had told her to do, but since she didn't want to just leave Yuma and go to meet and help this 'Mei Aihara' all by herself she had decided to bring her along for the ride.

"But Hotaru-

"Are you two alright?" Himeko caught the two girl's attention, as she was wondering why she would hear slight whispers coming from behind her every so often, and wondered if everything was okay between the two.

"Umm yes everything's fine," Yuma answered nervously, smiling to Himeko slightly, before Himeko nodded to her and continued to lead the way.

Yuma glanced to Hotaru, as the dark haired girl put a finger on her lips, and gestured for the blonde to stay quiet, and not cause the vice-President to ask them anymore questions, while Yuma just nodded back to Hotaru with a slight sigh.

A few minutes more of walking through the hallways of the school, the three girls came to two large double doors. Himeko stopping as Hotaru and Yuma did the same a second afterwards, looking to the big double doors, before they both turned back to look at Himeko again.

"The President is in there working, now I wouldn't normally let anyone in, since the last thing she needs is to be disturbed, but considering that this is about her family, and you said it was very urgent that you talk with her…I will leave you two to do so, but make sure to knock before going in," Himeko explained never normally letting anyone disturb the President once she was busy at work, but Hotaru had said this was a 'family matter' after all.

"Thank you Momokino-san, you've been a great help," Hotaru thanked Himeko with a kind smile, while Yuma just nodded with a nervous smile to the vice-President.

"You're welcome Mizushina-san," Himeko replied with a slight bow of her head, and another polite smile, before she turned and started to walk away from the two girls, leaving them to take care of things by themselves now.

Hotaru stood waving and smiling to the vice-President, before she sighed slightly, and looked to Yuma with a questioning expression when she noticed her shaking her head and frowning back to her slightly.

"What?"

"Let's just get this over with,"

Yuma stated with a slight sigh, feeling kind of guilty that she had let Hotaru play the vice-President for a fool, but just pushed those thoughts aside for the moment, choosing to just walk up to the double doors, and knock on them lightly.

The two girls waited for a moment or two, but didn't get a response, and so they tried knocking again, but louder this time. But still there was no answer.

"Maybe she left the room," Yuma thought out loud, thinking that maybe they should come back at a better time, but then again not knowing when that 'better time' would exactly be.

"Perhaps we should just wait inside for her to come back then?"

Hotaru asked, guessing that it was also very possible that the President just wasn't answering the door, but the only way they would really find out, would be to actually go into the room and see for themselves.

Yuma shrugged slightly, guessing that Hotaru's suggestion was most probably their best bet right now, as she took a deep breath and slowly rested her hand on the door's handle, opening the door slowly as her and Hotaru peered into the room.

"Hello is anyone in…" Yuma paused as she let go of the door handle, her and Hotaru standing in the doorway, as they both looked upon quite the surprising scene playing out in front of them at the moment.

There sitting in one of the chairs at the far side of the room was a girl with long jet-black hair, a pen in her hand still, while papers were layered all over the desk in front of her. And standing beside her, leaning over the back of her chair was another girl with long chestnut blonde hair, styled in a fashionable way, as she had her hand resting on the other girl's shoulder.

Then two girls lips' were locking in a deep kiss, both of them seeming to be lost in the moment, neither of them noticing that they weren't alone in the room anymore.

Standing a little stunned Yuma was speechless as she wasn't sure how to react, while Hotaru on the other hand now just cleared her throat and made sure she was loud enough for the two kissing girls to hear her.

Having caught the dark haired girl's attention, she slowly opened her eyes and looked to Hotaru and Yuma, breaking her kiss with the blonde leaning over her chair, causing the blonde to look over to the door and see the other two girls standing there.

"Well… sorry to interrupt, but do either of you girls know where the Student Council President is?" Hotaru asked, while Yuma nodded, but still seemed a little lost for words.

The two girls looked to Hotaru and Yuma, not answering for a minute or two before the dark haired girl composed herself, turned away from the blonde beside her, and addressed Hotaru with what now seemed to be a somewhat professional attitude to a certain degree.

"I am the Student Council President, and I would highly appreciate it if you forgot what you just saw now," the dark haired girl stated, looking to Hotaru with a warning stare.

"No worries Aihara-san, we won't speak a word of it to anyone, right Yuma?" Hotaru smiled innocently, turning to Yuma as the blonde composed herself.

"Err…right," Yuma nodded nervously, still feeling a little taken aback by walking in on something she guessed that they really weren't supposed to see.

"Mei, do you know these two girls?" The blonde beside the President now asked as she leaned down, and spoke in a whispered tone.

"How do you know my name, you two don't go to this school correct?" the President asked, ignoring the blonde's question as she was more focused on finding out who these two girls were, and how they knew her name.

"Right where are my manners, my name is Mizushina Hotaru, and this is my close friend, Okasaki Yuma, and we were sent here to solve a little problem of your's, you are Aihara Mei right?" Hotaru asked as she introduced Yuma and herself, smiling polity to the President.

"Yes I am, but just who sent you?"

Mei asked her expression seeming completely calm, but her mind asking quite a few more questions right now, while the blonde standing beside her was blushing a little and fidgeting slightly.

"Well I would like to discuss my reason for being here further, but…wouldn't it be better to talk in private?" Hotaru asked, that innocent and polite smile never leaving her lips.

Mei sat with an eyebrow raised to Hotaru for a moment, seeming to be lost in deep thought, while she stayed silent and wondered just what this dark haired girl was up to, and if she was telling the truth or not about her reason for being here,

' _That innocent smile of her's is a little unsettling,'_ Mei thought, as she wondered if she really should speak to this girl in private or not.

"Yuma-chan here can keep your… 'Friend' company if you would like?" Hotaru added, causing Yuma to look a little surprised, as she frowned to Hotaru, before looked nervously back to Mei.

After a few minutes more Mei sighed a little, before she nodded and agreed, "Very well, Yuzu could you step outside for a moment?" she asked the blonde, turning to her with a blank stare.

"But Mei-

"Yuzu,"

Mei's stare turned into more of a warning glare, as she lowered her voice, while the blonde smiled nervously back to her in reply, before nodding to her slightly, and making a swift escape for the door, standing and waiting outside the room a minute later.

"Are you sure about this Hotaru?" Yuma asked as she spoke in a whispered voice, and looked nervously to Hotaru.

"Relax Yuma-chan, it'll be fine, just go outside with that girl, I'm sure you two will get along nicely,"

Hotaru smiled to Yuma, reassuring her as she rested a hand on her shoulder, while Yuma just sighed, and nodded slightly, bowing her head to the President, before she left the room and waited outside the door along with Yuzu.

"Now who sent you?"

Mei repeated her earlier question, not really wanting to speak to this girl in private, but deciding to anyway since she didn't really want Yuzu getting involved if this proved to be troublesome for her.

"A friend of your's, Mizusawa Matsuri I believe," Hotaru stated, her answer causing Mei to widen her eyes slightly.

' _Now I get it,'_ Mei thought as she realized that this was just one of that annoying middle-school's little games, thinking that this dark haired girl did actually remind her of Matsuri to a certain degree, _'Just what is she up to this time?'_

"She's not someone I would consider, a 'friend'," Mei stated the tense feeling now leaving her body as she no longer felt like she should be weary of this Hotaru girl.

"Oh isn't she? I just assumed that you and her were close, my mistake," Hotaru smiled, shrugging her shoulders slightly, while thinking that maybe she should have gotten more information about the President, before she agreed to help her out.

"How do you know her though?" Mei asked, wondering if she really wanted to know the answer or not.

"We used to work together in a café," Hotaru answered simply.

"Isn't she a little young for a job like that?"

"Well I myself wasn't really old enough for such a job at the time, so I didn't question it, I guess," Hotaru smiled nervously now, scratching the back of her neck in what looked to be an embarrassed manner, but seemed different from Mei's point of view.

' _This girl…I can't read her, and I can't tell if everything she's saying is a lie or the truth, plus that all too innocent smile keeps throwing me off,'_ Mei thought as she looked Hotaru up and down for a moment, wondering if this girl was as she seemed, or if there was more to her underneath that unsettling childish demeanour of her's.

"So what did she tell you?" Mei asked after a short pause.

"That you apparently need my help with your… 'Relationship', but from the looks of things, I'd say you don't need the help," Hotaru's innocent smile formed into more of a slight smirk, as she chuckled slightly to Mei.

Not responding Mei simply just raised her eyebrow a little, wondering if she should trust or even continue talking to this girl. Something just gave off certain odd vibes about her, and Mei wasn't sure what to think, or how to react to anything she said.

"Not to worry though, I won't tell a soul, and I'll tell Yuma to keep her lips sealed about that kiss earlier as well okay?" Hotaru's innocent smile returned as she nodded her head in a childish manner.

"That blonde girl that you saw with me, she's actually quite close with Matsuri," Mei pointed out.

"Really, maybe I should talk to her then instead,"

"Nonetheless I believe it would be better if you talked to Matsuri since it's clear that…"

Mei paused as her and Hotaru were alerted by hearing loud voices from outside the room, both of the girls glancing to the closed doors, before looking back to each other again.

Hotaru shrugged her shoulders slightly as she turned and headed for the door, Mei standing up from her chair and following after her, wondering what was going on outside all of a sudden.

Hotaru and Mei stepped outside of the Student Council room, looking around for a minute for what was causing all the noise, only to look to the two blondes that were standing in the hallway, now arguing loudly with each other for some reason.

"What is going on with you two?" Mei asked as her and Hotaru walked up to Yuma and Yuzu, interrupting their little squabble.

"Oh hey Mei…are you and that girl finished speaking now?" Yuzu smiled nervously as she turned her attention to Mei, while Yuma looked to Hotaru nervously.

Mei just sighed slightly as she rubbed her forehead, and ran a hand through her long black hair slowly, guessing that the answer to her question would no doubt be a long one.


	2. Trouble Ahead

**Author's Notes: **

**I don't own Citrus or Netsuzou Trap, or any of their characters, no copyright is intended!**

 **This is a crossover story with Citrus and NTR (Netsuzou Trap) by the way. ;)**

 _Italics - Means the person is thinking just so you know.  
_

 **Warning: This contains yuri (girl x girl) pairings as well as pseudo-incest, don't like? Don't read simple, otherwise enjoy. ^_^ **

**...**

A slight uncomfortable silence had fallen on Yuma and Yuzu, as the two blondes now stood outside the Student Council room, while they waited for Mei and Hotaru to finish talking with each other, both of them glancing to one another, before they would look away again nervously.

"So it's Okasaki right?" Yuzu asked nervously, trying to strike up a friendly conversation, so that the two wouldn't just be standing there in an awkward silence.

"Just Yuma is fine," Yuma stated with a slight smile to Yuzu.

"Okay, I'm Yuzu by the way, Aihara Yuzu,"

"It's nice to meet you Yuzu,"

"You too," Yuzu smiled kindly back to Yuma, as she felt like the awkward tension between them was now slowly fading away, only to be brought back again a moment later.

"Hold on…did you say your last name was Aihara?" Yuma questioned, not realising at first, but now taking notice to the fact of the familiar surname of the blonde.

Yuzu just nodded in reply, not noticing that was a bit of a bad move on her part, since it caused Yuma to look surprised when she realised something.

"But isn't that the same last name as Mei-san?" Yuma asked, causing Yuzu to realise what she had just done, as the blonde nervously nodded in reply.

"Err yes…we're actually step-sisters you see,"

"But didn't me and Hotaru walk in on you and her kissing?" Yuma asked as she seemed to be slowly getting the idea as to why the two were kissing in secret, and had asked them to not speak a word of it to anyone else.

Yuzu just blushed slightly, while nodding and turning her head away from Yuma, while she wished Mei and Hotaru would hurry up, so that she wouldn't have to keep digging herself into the hole that she had just throw herself into.

"So you're dating your sister?" Yuma asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I told you we're step-sisters,"

"Right, right," Yuma smiled as she nodded to Yuzu.

Yuzu paused for a moment as she kept quiet, and glared slightly to Yuma, feeling like she should say something back to her.

"And what about you?"

"What about me?" Yuma asked her tone changing a little now.

"Well you and that black haired girl seem to be quite close," Yuzu stated as she folded her arms across her chest, seeming less nervous now.

"Hotaru? She and I are just friends," Yuma's tone automatically changed to a defensive one as she now seemed to be slightly annoyed with the other blonde.

"Are you sure about that?" Yuzu asked as it was her turn to raise an eyebrow now.

"Yes…besides she already has a boyfriend," Yuma pointed as she seemed to speak in a lower tone, while looking a little downhearted when saying that last part.

"Are you jealous perhaps?" Yuzu asked noticing Yuma's sudden change in tone and attitude, as the other blonde was looking to the floor now.

"What? No…let's just say her boyfriend isn't exactly 'the loving kind'" Yuma explained as she seemed to not like talking about this boyfriend of Hotaru's for some reason, which Yuzu picked up on quickly.

Feeling like she might have just struck a nerve with the other blonde Yuzu nervously went a little silent, as she looked to Yuma, and wondered if she was okay for a moment.

"Yuma…do you like this 'Hotaru' girl by any chance?" Yuzu asked, getting the feeling that she already knew the answer to her question.

"What? No," Yuma immediately answered, shaking her head as she looked back to Yuzu again.

Yuzu just raised her eyebrow to Yuma again, as she could easily tell Yuma was lying to her at that moment.

"Anyway I wonder what's taking Hotaru and Mei-san so long," Yuma changed the subject, as she nervously turned away from Yuzu again.

Yuzu looked to Yuma with a slight sigh, seeing herself in the other blonde for a moment, as she remembered how she used to feel with her own unrequited love, feeling a little sorry for the girl that she was just arguing with.

"You should really be more honest with your feelings," Yuzu thought out loud, not realising she had actually said what she was thinking, until she saw Yuma glare back to her slightly.

"Well at least I'm not dating my own sister,"

"She's my step-sister," Yuzu corrected as she glared back to Yuma slightly, shaking off her feelings of empathy for the other blonde.

"Like that makes it any better," Yuma folded her arms across her chest as she rolled her eyes slightly.

"At least I'm not hiding and lying about my feelings!" Yuzu raised her voice a little.

"What's that supposed to mean? I told you Hotaru and I are just friends, there's nothing going on between us!" Yuma raised her voice to match the volume of Yuzu's now.

"Sure there isn't," Yuzu replied as she rolled her eyes, causing Yuma to grit her teeth, as the two's argument grew more heated.

"What is going on with you two?" Mei asked as she and Hotaru had now come walking up to the two blondes wondering what all the fuss was about between them.

Both of the blondes stopped arguing, and turned to the two dark haired girl's, both of them feeling a little nervous now.

"Oh hey Mei…are you and that girl finished speaking now?" Yuzu asked nervously with a slight smile, while Yuma just looked nervously to Hotaru, wondering just how much of their conversation the other two girls had heard.

Sighing slightly Mei just rubbed her forehead with one hand, as she felt like the answer to her earlier question was no doubt going to be a long one.

"Yuma-chan don't you know it's rude to a fight with people you've only just met?" Hotaru stated in a scolding tone, while she wagged her finger in front of Yuma in a childish way.

"But Hotaru I-

"I don't want to hear it, now apologise," Hotaru stated as she gestured for Yuma to apologise to Yuzu.

Sighing slightly Yuma turned to look back to Yuzu, as she took a deep breath and apologised reluctantly to the other blonde.

"You should apologise as well Yuzu," Mei stated.

"What? But Mei she started this…" Yuzu paused slightly as all she got from Mei was a slight warning glare, as Mei raised her eyebrow slightly to the blonde.

"Fine, I'm sorry too," Yuzu reluctantly replied as she looked back to Yuma for a moment, before the two blondes looked away from each other again a minute later.

"Seems like we've both got quite the troublesome girls on our hands, huh Aihara-san?" Hotaru smiled to Mei as she chuckled at the way Mei had made Yuzu apologise with a simple warning glare directed at her.

Mei just seemed to ignore Hotaru's comment, as she turned her attention back onto Yuzu at that moment, "Yuzu it seems that Mizushina-san here is friends with Matsuri," she stated, gesturing a hand to Hotaru.

"Really? Her and Matsuri are friends?" Yuzu asked as she looked from Mei, to Hotaru, and then back to Mei again.

"It seems she sent her here as one of her annoying little tricks," Mei stated with a nod to Yuzu, while Hotaru just stood smiling to Yuzu innocently.

"Mei-san and I were thinking that maybe you could get her to come and speak to us, since you and Matsuri-chan are close," Hotaru stated in a polite tone, smiling kindly to Yuzu all the while.

"Umm sure, I guess I could call her and ask for her to come here in order for you to talk with her," Yuzu nodded with a smile back to Hotaru, obviously not seeing what Mei saw when it came to that unsettling childish smile of Hotaru's.

"Thank you, it would be great to see Matsuri-chan again. And it's Yuzu right?" Hotaru asked, making sure she was hearing Yuzu's name right.

"Yes, Aihara Yuzu, it's nice to meet you Mizushina-san," Yuzu smiled, not realising that she had again made a slight error with her naïve speaking.

"You too, and Hotaru is fine,"

Hotaru smiled in return, before she thought about what Yuzu had said and went over it a few times in her head, "Do you two have the same last name perhaps?" she asked, her smile gone now, but that innocent demeanour still there.

"Umm…" Yuzu nervously blushed as she thought of face-palming herself for being so foolish as to not think before she spoke.

Mei was going to speak up and clarify just what was going on with Yuzu and herself to Hotaru and Yuma, but was stopped before she could even get a word out, as suddenly Himeko came running up to the four girls standing in the hallway outside of the Student Council room.

"President there's a problem!"

Himeko stated as she came rushing over, stopping to catch her breath once she was close to the other four girls, "Oh I'm sorry for interrupting," she apologised, only now just noticing that Hotaru and Yuma were still with the President.

"It's fine Momokino-san, we're about done here anyway, thank you for your help earlier," Hotaru smiled kindly to Himeko, as she gave her a slight bow, which Himeko just nodded to slightly.

"Himeko, what is this problem that you referred to?" Mei asked getting the Vice-President back on to the topic that she had come running over to the four of them with.

"Ah yes right, it seems there's quite the gathering at the school's front gates," Himeko stated.

"Why? The bell for lessons should be ringing at any minute now." Mei asked, as she looked a little puzzled as to why students were gathering around the front gates, while lessons were just about to start.

"It seems as though there are two high school boys hanging around the front of the school, I did ask them to move since they were causing quite the commotion, but they don't seem to be budging at all unfortunately," Himeko explained, seeming to speak in a little of an annoyed tone now.

"Two high school boys? Hotaru…you don't think…" Yuma paused as she looked to Hotaru, only to see Hotaru smile back to her with a finger resting upon her lips, gesturing for the blonde to stay quiet, which Yuma simply just sighed to in response.

And within a few more minutes of Mei and Himeko talking about what was going on at the front of the school, the group of five all left to make their way to the school gates and see what all the fuss was about, as well as put a stop to it.

….

As the school bell rang loudly through the building, signalling that it was now time for lessons, and all students should be making their way to their classrooms, Mei, Himeko and the others all made it to the front of the school, seeing quite the gathering of students upon arrival, as they looked around for a moment before spotting the two high schools boys that were standing at the school gates, looking around and talking to one another.

Mei took a deep breath as she slowly walked over to the boys, while Himeko was telling the students of the school that everything was being taken care of, and they should all head to their classrooms now.

"Excuse me, I am the Student Council President of this school and would like to ask you what business do you two have for being here, and if you could please move on? You seem to be making quite the scene." Mei asked the two boys, both of them now looking back to the President with wondering expressions.

"Sorry about that, we're just here to collect some friends of ours," The boy with dark brown hair stated as he smiled nervously to Mei, while the other boy just stood silent, seeming uninterested.

"I see, well could you just tell me who these friends of your's are and I can go and see if-

"Fujiwara, I told you to come and pick Yuma and me up later, not right now, and why did you bring Takeda along with you?"

Hotaru stated as she came walking up to the tall boy with short sliver hair, addressing him with a slightly scolding tone. While Yuma nervously followed after Hotaru, sighing and feeling annoyed that her thinking had been right as to who the two high school boys at the front gates were.

"You didn't text me back when I asked where you would be, so I got worried. And Takeda said he wouldn't let me leave unless he came along," Fujiwara explained while although his tone did sound like he had been concerned, his still uninterested expression told a different story.

"Mizushina-san, are you familiar with these two?" Mei asked as she and Yuzu now seemed a little taken aback to see Hotaru address the two strangers like she was close to them both.

"Yes, I'm sorry Mei-san, this is my boyfriend Fujiwara, and his friend Takeda, they were going to come and pick me and Yuma up later, but I didn't know they were just going to show up here without telling me," Hotaru explained as she ended her sentence with a slight glare to both of the boys standing beside her, gaining a nervous smile from the brown haired one, and a simple shrug from her boyfriend.

' _Hotaru's boyfriend? So that's the guy that Yuma was talking about?'_ Yuzu thought as she looked to the sliver haired boy, thinking that he did seem a little unsettling to be around, but looked friendly and kind enough all the same.

"You two apologise for coming here and causing trouble for the President," Hotaru instructed to Fujiwara and Takeda, gesturing for them to say sorry to Mei.

"Right we're sorry for the inconvenience we have caused," Takeda apologised nervously, while Fujiwara just continued to stay silent, the two bowing to Mei a moment later, while Mei composed herself and just nodded back to the two.

"Thank you Mizushina-san," Mei nodded to Hotaru, sighing slightly with a little relief that she didn't have to deal with anything too much of a handful, and it was all being taken care of now.

"No problem, and call me Hotaru," Hotaru smiled as she looked back to Mei.

Mei didn't respond as she just looked to Yuzu for a moment, and then turned back to Hotaru again, catching her attention with a slight clearing of her throat, "Are you leaving now then?" she asked, wondering if Hotaru and Yuma were going to be leaving along with the two boys now.

"Well actually I would like to talk with you and Yuzu-chan a little more, is that okay?" Hotaru asked with a polite smile to Mei.

Mei couldn't tell if she should trust Hotaru or not, that smile still unsettled her to a great amount, and she didn't want things turning troublesome for her and Yuzu, but then again if she did send the two away, there was no grantee to say they wouldn't be back soon to cause more of a fuss for Mei and Himeko by disturbing and alerting the other students in the school again.

"Very well you two can stay in one of the old music rooms for a bit, while Yuzu and I go to our lessons, just as long as you make sure that you or your boyfriend don't cause any more trouble for me or the Vice-President," Mei explained, making sure that Hotaru got the message that this was a warning, rather than just a condition.

"Of course I understand," Hotaru nodded with a smile, before she turned back to Fujiwara and Takeda, and started to lead them out of the school, along with Yuma following close behind.

"The rest of the students have all gone to their classrooms now," Himeko stated as she came rushing over to Mei and Yuzu, having told all of the students to get to their classrooms before they would be marked down for being late.

"Thank you Himeko," Mei nodded to Himeko, while she smiled in return.

"We should most probably be heading to our classroom too," Yuzu thought out loud as she worried about being told off for being late for a moment.

"Himeko you take Yuzu to class, and tell the teacher I will be there soon, after I have dealt with this," Mei told Himeko, while Yuzu looked to her sister, surprised for a moment.

"But Mei-

"Just go Yuzu, I need to show those girls to one of the old music rooms. If talking a little more to them will make them leave, then that's what needs to happen, now get going,"

Mei told Yuzu, looking to her with a stern stare, while Yuzu just nodded back to her nervously, before her and Himeko left to go to class, leaving Mei to deal with Hotaru and Yuma by herself, as she stood waiting for the two girls to come back into the school once they had led the two boys out and away from the building.

…...

After Showing Hotaru and Yuma to one of the old music rooms in the school, where no one normally goes, Mei left the two alone, as she went to her classroom, hoping that the two girls would stay put, and not go causing any more trouble around the school while she was gone.

Hotaru and Yuma had been standing around the empty music room for a good while now, as a silence had fallen on the two. Hotaru getting the feeling that she had somehow made Yuma angry, by the way the blonde was giving her the silent treatment at the moment.

"Yuma-chan…is something the matter?" Hotaru asked looking genuinely concerned now as she didn't understand why Yuma had avoided talking to her all this time.

"It's nothing,"

Yuma sighed after a slight pause, not looking to Hotaru, as she stood leaning against a desk, while Hotaru slowly came walking over to her, hoping that she wouldn't walk away and just shut her out once she got close.

"You haven't spoken a word to me since Mei-san left us alone here. And I can tell when something is bothering you Yuma-chan," Hotaru stated as she stood beside Yuma now, glad that the blonde wasn't moving away from her, but still felt a little concerned, as Yuma still wasn't looking to her.

Yuma sighed again slightly, as she turned to face Hotaru, and answered her after a short pause, "You called Fujiwara and told him to come here, didn't you?" she asked, looking to Hotaru with what looked like a disappointed expression.

"I texted him asking if he could come and pick us up later, but I didn't expect him to suddenly show up her, and bring Takeda along with him," Hotaru explained seeming like she was being completely honest right now, but Yuma just felt like she was being lied to.

"So you're mad at me for telling Fujiwara to come and take us home once we were done here?" Hotaru asked still not understanding why Yuma seemed angry with her.

"No, it's not that…I just…" Yuma paused as she herself was unsure of why she felt mad about this, when all Hotaru had done was not tell her that Fujiwara was going to be coming to where they were,

"I told you it's nothing," Yuma smiled slightly now as she tried to push her true feelings to the back of her mind, while hoping that they would leave her alone soon.

Hotaru could easily see through Yuma's fake smile, but chose to simply smile back to her, and not press anymore, after all she really didn't like seeing Yuma upset or angry with her.

"So why did you want to stay here longer anyway?" Yuma now asked changing the subject as she looked to Hotaru, seeming a little more relaxed, which Hotaru was glad to see.

"I want to talk to Yuzu-chan more about meeting with Matsuri, I haven't seen her in a while after all," Hotaru explained with a smile as she sat on the desk that she and Yuma were leaning against, happy to be back on speaking terms with the blonde now.

"Did you know that Yuzu and Mei are actually step-sisters," Yuma asked, wondering if there was anything else that Hotaru had been told by this 'Matsuri' girl when it came to Mei Aihara, and their reason for coming here, that maybe Hotaru hadn't told her about.

"Ah, so that's why they had the same last name. Well I guess I can see why they didn't want us letting their little secret get out then, since they're actually related things could get bad if people found out about their relationship,"

Hotaru thought out loud, while Yuma just nodded slowly, agreeing with Hotaru, as she was certain to keep her mouth shut about what her and Hotaru had seen Yuzu and Mei doing in the Student Council room earlier, and hoped that Hotaru would do the same.

"Well I suppose we all do have our own secrets, don't we?" Hotaru looked to Yuma while a slight smirk was creeping on to her lips, her hand moving closer to where the blonde's rested.

"What do you mean Hotaru?" Yuma asked as she looked a little confused for a moment, before she froze and felt the warmth of Hotaru's hand rest over her own.

"Well we ourselves do have a secret relationship that no one knows about right?" Hotaru now lowered her voice a little as she moved closer to Yuma, stroking her hand with her fingertips softly.

"Hotaru-

Before Yuma could protest or even get another word out, Hotaru silenced her with a light kiss on her lips, causing Yuma to automatically close her eyes and gasp at the sudden kiss, squirming away from Hotaru, as their lips parted, and Yuma avoided looking to Hotaru's eyes.

"Hotaru, don't…not here,"

Yuma spoke in a low voice, blushing slightly as she was brought back to look at Hotaru a minute later, as the dark haired girl cupped her chin, and smiled to her happily, before she whispered into her ear, causing the blonde to shiver slightly.

"Why not? We're alone right now, so who's going to see?" Hotaru smiled, before she looked deeply into Yuma's eyes, and stopped just inches away from her, Yuma feeling Hotaru's warm breath on her lips.

"W-wait, Hotaru-

Yuma was cut off again as Hotaru kissed her more deeply this time, holding on to her hand tightly, while their fingers interlocked, and Yuma could feel herself melting into the kiss, her mind going blank, and a feeling of helplessness coming over her, closing her eyes again, as she could feel Hotaru's tongue asking her for an entrance.

"…Hotaru,"

A small whimper left Yuma's lips as she allowed for Hotaru to deepen their kiss further. Hotaru smiling into the kiss, while she combed her free hand through Yuma's long blonde hair, the two of them becoming lost in the moment together.

….

"I still don't get it, why did I have to apologize to that Yuma girl, I mean she's the one who started that argument after all," Yuzu asked Mei as it had come to the end of their morning lesson, and the two sisters now walked through the halls of the school, on their way to one of the old music rooms, where they had left Hotaru and Yuma alone in.

"I don't care who started it, you two were making a scene. Those two girls were causing me enough trouble without you joining in and the doing the same," Mei stated as she sighed after ending her sentence, as she rubbed her forehead for a minute, before she looked back to Yuzu, seeing her smiling back at her nervously.

"Sorry Mei," Yuzu apologised as she smiled slightly and hoped that Mei wasn't too mad at her right now, while the two just stayed silent for a moment.

"Let's just get back to Hotaru and Okasaki-san already," Mei replied, as Yuzu just agreed with a slight nod, before the two quickly made their way to their destination in silence.

Once making it to the music room that Mei had left Hotaru and Yuma in, Mei knocked on the door, waiting a little for them to answer, only to get nothing in response. Looking to each other for a minute Yuzu just shrugged her shoulders to Mei, before she grabbed the handle and simply just opened the door.

"Wait Yuzu…"

Mei called to Yuzu, but was already too late, as the blonde had opened the door and was now walking inside the room. However she stopped in her tracks for a minute as she now realised why there was no answer to Mei's knocks.

Mei just stood a little stunned in the doorway, while she and Yuzu were both a little loss for words at the sight they had now just walked in on, seeing Hotaru pinning Yuma up against the wall of the music room, while their lips were locked in a deep kiss.


	3. Lending A Helping Hand

**Author's Notes: **

**I don't own Citrus or Netsuzou Trap, or any of their characters, no copyright is intended!**

 **This is a crossover story with Citrus and NTR (Netsuzou Trap) by the way. ;)**

 _Italics - Means the person is thinking just so you know.  
_

 **Warning: This contains yuri (girl x girl) pairings as well as pseudo-incest, don't like? Don't read simple, otherwise enjoy. ^_^ **

**...**

An uncomfortable silence fell on the room as Mei and Yuzu stood a little lost for words, Mei looking slightly wide-eyed to the two other girls, while Yuzu was shifting her emerald eyes from looking to the two kissing girls, to glance to Mei, and then back to the other two again.

However Hotaru and Yuma, being lost in the moment it seemed didn't react, continuing to kiss each other deeply, as Yuma's blush reddened a little more, before she broke their kiss and covered her lips with one hand.

"Wait, Hotaru I…"

Pausing Yuma caught Yuzu out of the corner of her eye, now blushing deeply in embarrassment as she gripped tighter on to Hotaru's shoulder, as they both looked to Mei and Yuzu, neither of them speaking for a good few moments.

"I knew it!"

Yuzu announced proudly as she had now come back to her senses, and pointed a finger out towards Hotaru and Yuma, then standing back and folding her arms, while a slight smirk formed on her lips,

"And to think you were questioning me about my relationship with Mei, when you're no better, Hotaru has a boyfriend after all doesn't she?" Yuzu asked with a raised eyebrow, smiling at the fact that she could now get back at the other blonde, and make her feel uncomfortable, and embarrassed just like she had done to her earlier on.

"Yuzu stop that,"

Mei scolded her older sister as she too seemed to have recovered from her shock now, tucking a few locks of hair behind her ear, and addressing Hotaru and Yuma with an authoritative stance, folding her arms across her chest, while she let out a deep breath before speaking to the two girls.

"But Mei she…" Yuzu paused as all she got from Mei in reply was a stern warning stare, knowing to instantly be quiet, as she nervously nodded her head and zipped her lips shut.

"Now perhaps you two could tell us what is going on here?" Mei asked as she looked to Hotaru and Yuma and walked into the room more, now closing the door behind her so that no one else could walk past and hear their conversation.

"What can I say Mei-san? We all have our secrets right?"

Hotaru simply smiled in her innocent way, backing off from Yuma now, as she stood with her hands behind her back, and seemed to be completely unfazed by the fact that she and Yuma had just been caught.

While Yuma just nervously stayed silent, and turned away from Mei and Yuzu, still blushing slightly, as she just preferred to let Hotaru do all the talking, after all she didn't feel the need to cut in since there was no way seeing them two kissing could mean anything else other than the fact that they too had some dirty little secret of their own, which they had kept hidden until now.

"So what are you saying?" Mei questioned, wondering where Hotaru was going with what she was saying, as she raised her eyebrow to the other dark haired girl slightly.

"Well it's simple enough, we'll keep your secret, and in return you keep ours okay?"

Hotaru replied with a bright smile to Mei, causing Mei to grit her teeth a little from seeing that unsettling smile, making her think that right now Hotaru was just trying to get even with her, causing her to question if there was in fact anything actually going on between her and Yuma.

"…very well we'll keep you're secret, but please refrain from doing that kind of thing in the school, even if you are alone,"

Mei stated after a short pause, realising that she may have just made a deal with a the enemy, but decided it was for the best, since she still wasn't too sure if Hotaru was going to keep her word and stay quiet about what her and Yuma had seen her and Yuzu dong this morning, while they were in the Student Council room together.

"We will if you and Yuzu-chan do the same," Hotaru simply nodded in reply, gaining a slight glare from Mei in return, but she simply brushed it off, and obviously didn't seemed threatened in the slightest.

Turing away from Hotaru Mei simply headed for the door, and opened it to leave the room, having Yuzu quickly following after her a few seconds later,

"Wait Mei,"

The blonde called out to her younger sister as she quickly followed her out of the music room, leaving Yuma and Hotaru to follow along as well, as Yuma sighed heavily, not feeling so uncomfortable now that the tension had gone from the room, and Mei and Yuzu had moved on from what they had seen pretty quickly, luckily enough.

Just as Yuma was about to follow after Yuzu and Mei, she felt a slight warmth touch her hand as she suddenly froze and looked to her side, as Hotaru had slipped her hand into her's and gave it a small squeeze, smiling happily to her for a moment, while Yuma nervously blushed and avoided looking into Hotaru's eyes, before the two left the music room as well.

….

"Hold on so that friend of your's isn't a relative of the President's?"

Himeko asked as Mei, Yuzu, Yuma and Hotaru had now met up the Vice President as well as Yuzu's close friend Harumin, as the six of them all now stood inside the empty classroom, while the rest of the students were enjoying their lunch break outside or in the lunch hall.

Having wanted to go somewhere quiet for working out how and when they were going to get Matsuri to meet up with them, only to then have Himeko and Harumin be still in the classroom waiting for Yuzu and Mei, and then having to explain to them what had being going on this morning with Hotaru and Yuma and why they were with them.

"Nope seems like this girl played you for a fool Vice-Prez,"

Harumin smiled as she sat in her seat, her chair facing away from her desk, as Yuzu stood beside her, and Himeko, Hotaru and Yuma stood opposite them, while Mei stood leaning against the closed door keeping watch, as she stood listening in and sighing at the group's conversation, shaking her head slightly, before turning to look away from the group of girls all talking to each other.

"I'm sorry Momokino-san that I lied to you, but I didn't think you would let us see Mei-san if we said it wasn't urgent," Hotaru apologized looking genuine enough to the others, but Yuma getting the feeling that she was only saying sorry to seem polite.

"It's okay I guess, just don't make a habit out of it," Himeko warned, as Hotaru just nodded to her happily, smiling all the while.

"Hotaru you really shouldn't lie to people like that,"

Yuma stated with a slight sigh, causing Hotaru to now look to her, as Yuma really wished that people weren't so easily fooled by Hotaru's innocent, and polite charm, without knowing what lay beneath.

"Aww don't be angry with me Yuma-chan, I only lied so that we could see Mei-san, otherwise we wouldn't have gotten the chance to meet up with Matsuri-chan," Hotaru explained as she smiled to Yuma, and then showed off her best pouting look to her friend.

"I guess you have a point there, you're just lucky we didn't get into any trouble for your lies," Yuma replied with a slight sigh, knowing she was fighting a losing battle with trying to stay angry with Hotaru, especially when it came to that childish pouting look of her's.

Hotaru just simply smiled to Yuma in return, happy that she was letting her off without much scolding this time, slowly moving closer to Yuma as she rested her hand over the blonde's on the desk, and turned to face the others while Yuma froze slightly.

Becoming a little nervous Yuma blushed slightly, as although she knew their hands were hid behind their backs, it was still a little risky to be doing these sorts of things right in front of other people. However Yuma just sighed slightly as she moved her hand a little and allowed for Hotaru to intertwine their fingers together, feeling the dark haired girl give her hand a slight squeeze.

"So you really are an old friend of Matsuri's then?" Harumin asked as she looked to Hotaru, and Hotaru just looked back to her with a smile, and a slight nod.

"Yes, we've known each other for quite some time, but we lost contact a little while ago, so I thought it would be good to kill two birds with one stone as they say, and meet up with Mei-san here so I could find out why Matsuri wanted me to come here, and I could maybe find a way to meet up and get back into contact with her again," Hotaru explained to Harumin, as she smiled cheerfully to her.

"Well the way you tricked the Vice-Prez sure does remind me of something that that little annoyance would do," Harumin thought out loud, as her smile seemed to form into a slight frown when talking about a certain pink haired middle schooler.

"I guess some of her antics must have rubbed off on me," Hotaru shrugged simply as she smiled nervously in reply, while Harumin just nodded in return.

As the conversation carried on with Harumin and Hotaru chatting away and Himeko and Yuzu would join in every now and again, Yuma seemed to be staying silent all the while, not wanting to really be included, as her mind was thinking about other things right now.

Yuzu, noticed that the other blonde seemed a little out of place as she stood off to the side, and had turned her head away from the rest of the group now. She sighed slightly as she had been wondering about the other blonde since she met her, and now since her and Mei had walked in on her and Hotaru's secret, she had even more questions about this young girl, who seemed to be going through something similar to what she herself had been through with Mei when they first met.

"Hey Yuma, can I talk with you for a moment?" Yuzu asked as she caught the other blonde's attention, and looked to her with a kind and reassuring smile.

Yuma looked a little surprised at first, before she glanced to Hotaru for a moment, as all Hotaru did in return was smile and nod to Yuma, giving her hand another slight squeeze, before she let her go, and Yuma sighed slightly, nodding back to Hotaru, before she walked over to Yuzu, and the two of them left the classroom together, being told by Mei to not wander off too far, or to be gone for too long, which they both agreed to before leaving.

….

Yuzu and Yuma now sat side by side on the rooftop of the school, Yuzu knowing that no one really went up there since students weren't allowed to hang around on the roof. Having been sitting in complete silence for a little while now since the two had only met this morning and weren't all that close, as they now sat in the awkward quiet together. Yuzu looking to Yuma and wanted to reach out to her, but not knowing how exactly she should do it, while Yuma just simply looking off into space, and avoiding looking back to the other blonde.

Although having stayed quiet for the majority of the time Yuma was actually the one to speak up first, as she looked to Yuzu out of the corner of her eye, and caught her attention when she suddenly spoke to her,

"So what did you bring me up here for, you said you wanted to talk to me right?"

Yuma asked with a slight sigh, as she was sitting with her knees hugged up close to her chest, while Yuzu sat beside her with her legs stretched out looking much more relaxed and laid back then the other blonde did right now.

"Well I guess I wanted to ask you just what is going on with you and Hotaru," Yuzu simply explained, while Yuma just turned away from her in return,

"I mean you don't really seem to be happy when you're with her, plus there's the fact that she has a boyfriend as well, and I just don't understand what kind of relationship you two are in exactly," Yuzu went on, as she tried to be there for Yuma, and hoped she would reply to her this time.

"Neither do I sometimes," Yuma simply stated after a short pause in return, as she spoke in a low tone, and seemed to be awfully depressed at the moment.

"What do you mean?" Yuzu asked, glad that Yuma had answered her, but also now feeling a little sorry for the other blonde, and wondering if she could possibly help her in any way.

"It started quite a while ago, I was dating a boy, and Hotaru said she would help and support me, saying I could 'practice' with her if I ever wanted to, and since then she keeps making passes at me, and teasing me, even going as far as doing things to me or kissing me in public places, or around people we know. Sometimes I think she just sees it as a game, seeing how far she can push the limits before it's too late and everyone knows about us, we've almost been seen many times, and there has been a couple of times where we have been caught by someone in particular," Yuma explained as she now seemed annoyed as her lips formed into a grimace slightly.

"Who?" Yuzu asked with a wondering expression, looking quite interested now.

"Fujiwara," Yuma stated in a low toned voice.

"You mean Hotaru's boyfriend?"

Yuma just nodded in reply slightly, "He's threatened to expose us a couple of times, but I'm not sure if he will actually do it or not,"

"Hasn't Hotaru told him to not tell anyone else?"

"Not really, to be honest I don't think she even cares if we ever did get found out or not, as you saw she didn't really seem fazed when you and Mei-san walked in on us kissing,"

Yuma sighed again, as she really did wonder why she was still friends with Hotaru after all she had done, but knew she couldn't just leave her, she cared about her too much, and the ache that she felt in her chest for the dark haired girl would always have her crawling back to her. Plus there also was the question of what Hotaru would let Fujiwara do to her once she was vulnerable, and no one would be around to save her from getting hurt again or worse.

The two then went silent for a few moments, as Yuzu didn't know what to say, and Yuma just felt more depressed when talking about this kind of stuff.

"Yuma if you don't mind me asking…why are you with Hotaru?" Yuzu asked, getting the feeling that Hotaru was very different from how Mei used to be, and reminded her a bit more of Matsuri when she thought about it.

"I ask myself the same question a lot of the time," Yuma gave a small smile, as she turned to Yuzu, and looked almost close to tears at that moment.

Yuzu could feel her heart go out to Yuma, as she wanted to throw her arms around her and hug her tightly, but she refrained from doing so, as she knew that Yuma probably wouldn't accept her considerate affection since she didn't know her all that well.

"It wasn't always like this, Hotaru wasn't always the manipulative and cunning girl that hides behind that innocent smile of her's, she used to be very timid in fact, I always remember having to protect and watch over her when we were younger, and even now I care about her way too much, and worry about her probably much more than I should," Yuma explained feeling like her relationship with her childhood friend was now all take and no give, leaving both her and Hotaru in a lot of pain underneath it all.

"Yuma, do you actually love Hotaru?"

Yuzu asked already guessing that she was right, as the way the other blonde spoke about her dark haired friend, and how she felt about her, and how she just couldn't leave her, (even though it may have been best if she did decide to leave her) sure sounded like feelings of love.

"Someone once told me not too long ago that these feeling I had for Hotaru sounded like love, but if I really do love her then it wouldn't even matter, I can't tell her anyway, and I really doubt her feelings are the same towards me," Yuma explained as she now glanced up at the blue sky above them, and sighed a little.

Yuzu sat deep in thought for a moment, going over all that Yuma had told her in her mind, while she tried to work out some sort of way to help the other blonde. She wanted to reach out to her and lend her a helping hand with the unhealthy relationship that her and Hotaru had, but wasn't too sure at first how exactly she was going to pull it off.

Then her emerald eyes widened as she suddenly thought of an idea, and smiled brightly turning to Yuma with a light in her eyes, "I've got it!" she announced proudly, causing Yuma to jump a little as she looked back to Yuzu with a questioning expression.

"Got what?" Yuma asked as she tilted her head to the side slightly.

"We're going to help you and Hotaru with your relationship," Yuzu stated proudly, as she seemed to have everything planned out now.

"And by 'we' you mean?"

"Me, Mei, and maybe even Matsuri if she'll agree to it, we can all work towards getting you two to be more honest with your feelings, and then you can confess to each other, and all will be good. Well once maybe that boyfriend of Hotaru's is out of the picture that is," Yuzu explained, mumbling that last part in a low tone, as she still smiled brightly to Yuma.

"Why is she even dating that guy? You said that he's not exactly 'the loving kind' right?" Yuzu asked her smile now turning into a slight frown, as she wondered if this boyfriend of Hotaru's was going to be a problem or not.

"To be honest I'm not sure, they're not really much of a happy, loving couple, and Fujiwara does nothing but hurt Hotaru most of the time, sometimes I really wish Hotaru would just dump him," Yuma stated her voice turning into an annoyed tone as it seemed she held quite the grudge towards Hotaru's boyfriend.

"But really I'm not sure Hotaru feels the same way I do, all she ever does is tease and play around with me like I'm some toy, and it often feels like she's lying to me all the time, with that innocent smile always on her lips, I can hardly tell when she's actually being serious, and when she's playing a trick on me. I just would really like to know what goes on inside her head," Yuma explained unsure if the feelings that she had for Hotaru were all just one-sided, and the dark haired just kept her around for the fun of it, as it sure seemed that way a lot of the time.

"You know Yuma, people express their love in different ways, and so Hotaru's way of showing you how she feels might just be playing tricks on you. Even though it's not exactly something you would expect someone that loves you to do to you, that may be in fact the only way she knows how, after all her boyfriend doesn't sound like he's that good of a partner to her at all," Yuzu explained while she smiled slightly thinking about when she first met Mei, and the dark haired girl used to use her at lot as well, never showing her true feelings, until those high walls and that cold mask were broken down.

"It may surprise you but Mei used to be like that as well, using me for her own frustration or comfort, taking advantage of my feelings, and to this day she still tends to hide behind a mask not wanting anyone to see the real her. Plus I guess I'd like to know what goes through her head as well a lot of the time,"

Yuzu sighed slightly, as she hugged her knees up to her chest, and could feel a slight warmth fill her heart, as she thought about how Mei used to be, and how much she had changed since then, thinking that maybe that could happen to Hotaru as well with their help.

"I guess both of us have been a little unlucky in love then huh?" Yuma chuckled slightly, causing Yuzu to do the same in return, "But you and Mei-san seem to be happy together now right?" Yuma asked, wondering a little how the two girls had been able to work everything out in order to be happy where they are now.

"Yep, and with our help I'm sure you and Hotaru will be the same soon," Yuzu replied with a bright smile, nodding to Yuma as the other blonde just smiled back to her slightly.

"Thank you Yuzu," Yuma spoke out in a low voice, after a short pause, causing Yuzu's eyes to widen for a moment, before she simply smiled again happily.

"You're welcome Yuma-chan," Yuzu said as she gave Yuma a comforting hug, and was glad to feel Yuma hug her back a minute later.

"And I'm sorry about this morning, I guess I shouldn't have been so fast to judge," Yuma sighed slightly as she let go of Yuzu, and pulled away from her a little.

"It's fine, water under the bridge right?" Yuzu smiled as she just lay a comforting hand on Yuma's shoulder.

Yuma simply nodded in reply with a smile in return, glad that she and Yuzu had made up now it seemed, and the fact that she wanted to help her and Hotaru with their relationship was something she felt grateful for.

"Yuzu,"

Both of the blonde girls suddenly froze as they heard a stern voice call to Yuzu, the two turning their heads to now see Mei and Hotaru standing in the doorway, Mei with an expression of seeming slightly sceptical, while Hotaru wore a curious wondering expression.

"Oh Mei, what are you doing here?" Yuzu asked smiling nervously to her younger sister, while she and Yuma both wondered how much of their conversation the two dark haired girls had heard.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question? You know students aren't allowed up here," Mei stated as she raised an eyebrow slightly to the blonde.

"Well we needed a quiet place where Yuma and I could talk in private, and I thought this was probably the best place since no one would be here," Yuzu explained as she nervously scratched the back of her head, turning her gaze away from Mei a little.

"What did you need to talk to Yuma-chan about anyway?" Hotaru now asked, shifting her eyes a little as she looked to Yuzu, then to Yuma, and back to Yuzu again for a few minutes.

"Umm…" Yuzu paused for a moment, as she tried to think of some lie that just might be convincing.

"Don't worry Hotaru, Yuzu just wanted to talk about what had happened this morning, and we were able to work everything out, so there's no hard feelings now," Yuma quickly answered saving Yuzu, as she smiled to her, and gained a small smile back in return as thanks.

"Glad you were able to make up then," Hotaru simply smiled in return, while Yuzu gave out a slight sigh of relief,

"And you'll be happy to know that Mei-san and I have worked everything out as well, she said for us to come back at the end of next week, and we can all meet up with Matsuri-chan then," Hotaru explained happily, while Yuma and Yuzu now stood up from the floor, both of them nodding in return.

"That's good then," Yuma smiled as she came walking over to Hotaru, and Yuzu soon followed to stand beside Mei.

"And while we're there Yuzu and I can hopefully also have a word with her about this little trick she decided to set up for us, by sending you and Hotaru-san here," Mei stated her tone sounding like it was a little annoyed, while she sighed slightly, and Yuzu just smiled nervously to her again.

"Come on then, Momokino and Harumin are probably going to start wondering where we are soon," Yuzu stated before she happily headed off, out the door and down the stairs, leading to the third floor hallway, along with having Mei following close behind her.

Hotaru was going to follow the other two girls as well, but was stopped in her tracks, as she felt a hand grab her own, and hold onto her tightly, surprising her a little. Hotaru looked back as she saw Yuma now holding onto her hand tightly, but not saying a single word, as the blonde just stood with her head hanging low, and her long hair covering her face and hiding her expression.

"Are you okay Yuma-chan?" Hotaru asked as she looked a little concerned for a moment, wondering why the blonde had stopped her from walking off and following after Yuzu and Mei.

"Yeah I'm fine, sorry about giving you a bit of the cold shoulder earlier," Yuma lifted her head as she smiled to Hotaru, knowing that although Hotaru did play her around an awful lot, she also did care for her very much, and would hate to see her upset or depressed.

"Don't worry about, after all I guess I was overstepping the mark a little back in the classroom," Hotaru stated now smiling back to Yuma as she squeezed the blonde's hand, and sighed a little.

"I guess I don't mind it all that much, just keep those kind of things to a minimum, especially when we're around other people, alright?" Yuma asked sternly, which Hotaru replied to with a simple nod, both of them smiling to each other for a moment, before they slowly let go of each other's hands, and went to catch up with Yuzu and Mei.

Yuma now feeling a little better and more relaxed after that talk with Yuzu, as she and Hotaru happily made their way back to the classroom, once they had caught up with the other two girls, who were waiting for them patiently in the hallway of the third floor.


	4. Seeing Old Friends Again

**Author's Notes: **

**I don't own Citrus or Netsuzou Trap, or any of their characters, no copyright is intended!**

 **This is a crossover story with Citrus and NTR (Netsuzou Trap) by the way. ;)**

 _Italics - Means the person is thinking just so you know.  
_

 **Warning: This contains yuri (girl x girl) pairings as well as pseudo-incest, don't like? Don't read simple, otherwise enjoy. ^_^ **

**...**

Mei now stood beside the front door, as she sighed slightly and tapped her foot on the wooden floorboards a little, waiting for Yuzu to finish getting ready so that they could leave already. Folding her arms across her chest, as she looked to the clock on the wall, taking note to the fact that they were already about five minutes late by now.

"Yuzu, we need to get going, if you don't hurry up I'm going without you!" Mei called to her elder sister as she rested her hand on the doorknob and was ready to leave if she didn't hear an answer from the blonde, who was still fussing about and getting herself ready.

"Wait! I'm coming now!"

Yuzu called back after a few more minutes, running out of the bedroom, and quickly racing to the front door, sitting down to slip her shoes on, while Mei just stood waiting for her with a blank stare, holding the door open for her, as she was already standing outside.

Springing to her feet, and calling goodbye to their Mother, Yuzu quickly nodded to Mei, signalling that she was ready now, which Mei simply answered to by walking away from her elder sister, leaving her to close the door behind them.

"Wait up Mei!" Yuzu called out to her younger sister, as she ran after her, quickly catching up with her, while Mei just continued to walk forward ignoring her sister's calls.

"You know we're already about ten minutes late, we were supposed to meet them on time, what were you even doing?" Mei asked, while she still didn't look to her sister, walking faster as she didn't want to be any later than they already were.

"Oh come on Mei, I'm sure Yuma-chan, and Hotaru won't mind us being a little late, and besides we have to look our best for our new friends right?" Yuzu asked as she whipped her long blonde hair back proudly, while Mei just walked ahead of her, rolling her eyes slightly.

"I doubt they'll really care how we look," Mei mumbled under her breath, before she picked up speed and ignored when Yuzu began to call after her again.

"Do they know where to meet us?" Yuzu asked as she quickly increased her speed and caught up with Mei.

"Yes, Hotaru-san messaged me a while ago saying that they were waiting for us, and asking if we were still coming, since you were talking so long just to get ready," Mei explained, before she slowed down a little to make sure she was going the right way to the train station, seeing it in her sights a moment later and quickly walking towards it, having Yuzu following close behind her.

As the two made it to the train station they both stopped for a few moments, scanning around the area for two certain somebodies that they were meant to meet up with a while ago, searching for the two girls that they had met only a few days prior to now.

Not seeing the two girls in question after a little while, Mei and Yuzu looked to each other, wondering if they had told Hotaru and Yuma to meet them at the right place, only to both freeze up when they heard a familiar cheerful voice calling over to them loudly.

"MEI-SAN! YUZU-CHAN!"

Hotaru called over to Mei and Yuzu, as she had spotted them and was now waving to them both with a bright smile on her lips, as Mei and Yuzu turned to their names being called, and both sighed with slight relief when they saw the familiar dark haired girl waving her arm to them, while she came walking over to them, having Yuma and Fujiwara following close behind.

"See Yuma-chan, I told you they were on their way,"

Hotaru stated with a smile to her blonde friend, as the group pf three walked over to Mei and Yuzu, greeting them happily. Yuma just sighed slightly, before so nodded to Hotaru, and smiled a little.

"Sorry we weren't here, we decided to go and grab some drinks while we waited for you, but you came sooner than we thought so we started to head back after I got your text Mei-san," Hotaru explained, as she pointed to a nearby juice bar, smiling brightly to Mei and Yuzu, which Yuzu nodded back to with her own bright smile, while Mei just replied with a slight nod.

"Did we keep you two waiting long?" Yuma asked as she smiled, and was happy to see Yuzu again.

"Oh no not at all, we just got here, right Mei?" Yuzu stated, before she looked to Mei happily, while the dark haired girl simply just nodded in reply.

"We're sorry for making you wait, Yuzu was spending hours just putting on her make-up, and then took ages to figure out what clothes she was going to wear," Mei spoke in a low tone, while a blank stare was directed at her elder sister.

"Well I wanted to make myself look nice," Yuzu stated as she rested her hands on her hips, and frowned to Mei slightly.

"We're only going to meet up with Matsuri, you don't need to make yourself look nice," Mei shot back, causing Yuzu to pout and whine about how she wanted to look nice for Hotaru and Yuma, as well as for seeing Matsuri again.

Hotaru and Yuma just smiled nervously to Mei and Yuzu, before Fujiwara who had been silent up until now, turned to Hotaru, and brought her attention on to him, "So do you want me to pick you both up from here when you get back?" he asked, seeming like he wanted to make a quick escape now.

"Yes please, we should be back by this afternoon, and you can bring Takeda along if you want," Hotaru answered smiling up to her boyfriend, before he just nodded to her and gave her a quick hug, leaving a moment later, while Hotaru just stood waving to him.

Yuzu frowned slightly as she watched Fujiwara walk off into the distance, really wondering why he and Hotaru were still together if all Yuma had said about him was true, was using and hurting Hotaru all he ever did? If so then why was Hotaru continuing to put up with it, instead of just breaking up with him?

"Are we going then? Matsuri-chan knows to meet us at the station right?"

Hotaru asked Mei as her voice brought Yuzu out of her thoughts, while Mei just replied to her with a slight nod, before they all walked into the train station, just in time to catch their train, and set off for where Matsuri lived in Yuzu's hometown.

….

The relatively quick train ride was filled with random conversations of the four girls catching up, and talking about things that had happened since they had last seen each other, even though it had only been a couple of days since then. And although they didn't know each other all that well still, the ride was never once silent or awkward, as they were able to keep finding subjects to talk about, making the journey seem much shorter than it actually was, before they all soon heard their destination being called out over the speakers, and all quickly exited out the doors once the train had come to a stop at the station.

The four now stood in the station, looking around for a certain pink haired middle schooler, knowing that they were late, but hoping that Matsuri wouldn't mind too much, as they all continued to search the busy station for her.

Hotaru smiled happily as she spotted the girl in question, and called to the other three, pointing in Matsuri's direction, once Yuma, Mei and Yuzu had all turned to look at her. The four all quickly walked over to Matsuri, while Yuzu called out to her, catching her attention, as she took off her headphones, and smiled when she saw the four girls quickly walking over to her.

"Matsuri-chan!" Hotaru called cheerfully, smiling brightly to her old friend.

"Hotaru-chan! It's been too long," Matsuri smiled back as she brought Hotaru into a tight hug, before they let go of each other, and the others all greeted Matsuri, and introduced Yuma to her.

"I know, why did you ghost me like that anyway?" Hotaru asked raising an eyebrow to the younger girl.

"Sorry I lost your number a while ago, and didn't know how to get back into contact with you," Matsuri explained, as the group of four now were all leaving the train station, and were heading off to a nearby café together.

"Anyway I'm glad that you finally decided to go and meet Mei and Yuzu-chan, maybe you can lend a helping hand to them, because damn do they need it,"

"That's not true!" Yuzu stated as she glared to Matsuri, a slight nervous blush creeping on to her cheeks, while Matsuri just smirked to her in return.

"Have you two got any further in your relationship lately?"

"Well…no I guess not,"

"And you still haven't had sex even once yet after being together for almost two whole months right?"

"O-of course not! We're taking things slow," Yuzu tried to defend her and Mei's relationship, while Mei just stayed silent, and seemed uninterested, Hotaru smirking along with Matsuri, and Yuma just standing off to the side nervously.

"Yeah real slow by the looks of things," Matsuri simply just chuckled, while Yuzu's blush deepened a little.

"Maybe I can lend you two a helping hand then?" Hotaru asked with a slight smirk to Yuzu.

"I told you, there's no need," Yuzu stated nervously, while Matsuri and Hotaru just nodded to her in sync.

"Sure, sure," Matsuri replied, while Hotaru just smiled in return, Yuzu now turning away from the two, and looking down to her shoes nervously, choosing to stay silent for the rest of the walk to the café.

"Alright why don't you three go and find us a table, and order some drinks? I need to go and have a little talk with Hotaru here," Matsuri stated as she gestured for the others to leave her and Hotaru alone for a while, which they all just looked to each other in reply, wondering how to answer at first.

"Why do we need to talk Matsuri I-

"Don't worry we won't be gone for long, so you three can all wait until we get back right?" Matsuri cut Hotaru off, as she just smiled to the other three, gaining a slight nod from Mei after a short pause, before she turned and began to head inside the café, Yuzu called and followed after a moment later.

However Yuma stayed as she looked to Hotaru with a nervous expression, before Hotaru simply smiled and nodded for her to go and wait with Yuzu and Mei, "Don't worry Yuma-chan, you go and wait with Mei-san and Yuzu-chan, I'll be back in a bit okay?" she stated, reassuring the blonde, while Yuma continued to just look unsure to her friend.

"You won't be gong long right?" Yuma asked, raising her eyebrow, while slightly glancing to Matsuri, as she wasn't too sure if she should just let Hotaru be alone with this girl.

"I'll be back before you know it,"

Hotaru smiled as she grabbed hold of Yuma's hand for a moment, and gave it a tight squeeze, before Yuma sighed deeply and nodded to her, turning and leaving to go and join Yuzu and Mei inside the café once Hotaru had let go of her hand.

Hotaru just stood waving to the blonde with a smile, before she turned back to Matsuri and sighed deeply, looking to the younger girl, who now stood with a raised eyebrow directed at her, folding her arms, while Hotaru nervously looked to her, before she was led to a nearby park by the younger girl.

The two now sat together on one of the park benches, an uncomfortable silence between them, as they sat not looking each other. Matsuri sighing slightly as she seemed relaxed enough, while Hotaru sat with her hands bawled up into tight fists, wondering why Matsuri had dragged her off like this, but then again she could easily guess why.

"So that blondie is Yuma huh?" Matsuri asked, while Hotaru just nodded to her a moment later, "She's cute, have you gotten any further than you were with her the last time we talked?" she asked, looking to Hotaru as she wanted to know what the dark haired girl had been up to while she couldn't contact or meet up with her, and if her problems with her love life had improved at all.

"No really," Hotaru answered after a short pause, her voice low, as she refused to look to Matsuri, her confident act now completely gone as a very anxious girl was left in its place.

"Why not? Don't tell me you're still with that jerk,"

Matsuri raised her eyebrow, as all she got from Hotaru was a slight nervous glance directed her way, as Hotaru didn't answer her, but instead just stayed quiet, and let the younger girl figure it for herself.

Matsuri just sighed as she got the message that Hotaru was still with her boyfriend, "I thought you were going to break up with him, honestly you can't just continue to let him hurt and use you like this, how long is it going to be before he causes you more pain, by beating you, or forcing you to sleep with him for his own enjoyment?" Matsuri asked, still not believing that Hotaru was still with her terrible boyfriend, who only ever cared about himself.

"He doesn't do that anymore…but he has threatened to expose Yuma and me a few times before now," Hotaru stated, mumbling that second part out as she slowly turned away from Matsuri again, knowing that she should have been expecting to get a lecture once Matsuri had taken her away for this 'talk'.

"Still? When I last talked to you he had only just caught you two, and you said you were going to tell him to keep quiet,"

"I did, and he hasn't said a word to anyone, not even to Yuma's old boyfriend,"

"Yet, how much longer do you think he's going to keep it a secret?"

Matsuri asked, which Hotaru simply answered to by going quiet again, looking down to her shoes, as she knew Matsuri was right, and it most likely wouldn't be all that long until Fujiwara let the secret between her and Yuma slip, she didn't care what might happen to her, but she at least wanted to protect Yuma.

"Why are you even still with him anyway?"

Matsuri asked, knowing that Hotaru's reasons for continuing to stay with Fujiwara before were because she didn't want to be alone, however now she reckoned her reasons were different, and she was right in a way.

"Because I'm afraid that if I do leave him, he really will leak mine and Yuma's secret, and although I don't care about how people may think of me, I don't want Yuzu losing her friends, or people treating her badly because of it,"

Hotaru explained sighing slightly, as she didn't want to see Yuma having people talking behind her back, or not wanting to be friends with her anymore. Hotaru herself had dealt with people talking behind her back, and them spreading lies about her around the school, and by now she had gotten used to it, so much so that it simply didn't bother her anymore. However she definitely didn't want Yuma to go through the same because of her.

"What's going on with you and Yuma right now by the way?"

Matsuri asked as she decided it would be better to change the subject since Hotaru seemed quite depressed and worried when talking about the topic of her boyfriend and him possibly telling people about her and Yuma's secret relationship.

"A while ago she told me that she liked someone, she wouldn't tell me who, but she asked me if she could practice with me again so that things will go well with the person she likes," Hotaru explained seeming a little less worried now, and sitting a little more relaxed on the bench.

"And being the lovesick girl that you are, you agreed without question right?" Matsuri asked, knowing she was right without even having to guess.

Hotaru just paused for a moment, as she turned away from Matsuri for a moment, "I don't care how much she may use me. As long as I can stay by her side I'm happy, besides don't you think I deserve it after all I've done to her?" she smiled sadly, looking back to Matsuri now as slight tears were filling her bright blue eyes.

Matsuri just sighed deeply, before she pulled Hotaru into a tight hug, and rubbed her back in a comforting manner, feeling her hug her back a minute later, while Hotaru wiped her eyes, and embraced her old friend tightly. She wanted to be honest with herself, and with her feelings towards Yuma, but the fear of being rejected and then left alone kept her from doing so.

….

Matsuri and Hotaru soon made their way back to the café, and looked around for the other three, only to be called to by Yuzu once they had come walking through the door. Yuzu happily waving to them and calling them over, while Yuma just sighed with a little relief that the two hadn't been gone for very long, and Mei just sat looking uninterested, wondering when their drinks would get here.

"You two all done with your talk?" Yuma asked once Matsuri and Hotaru had walked up to the table, and sat down along with the rest of the group.

"Yep, told you we would be back before you know it,"

Hotaru smiled to Yuma happily, before she slowly rested her hand over the her's, turning away from Yuma a moment later, as the blonde froze up a little at the sudden contact, even though their touching hands were hidden under the table right now.

"So what were you two talking about anyway?"

Yuzu asked as she looked to Matsuri, kinda wondering why the middle schooler had wanted to talk with Hotaru alone for a while, when she could have just done it with them around if they were just catching up or something.

"Don't worry Yuzu-chan it was nothing for you to be concerned about," Matsuri answered, smiling to Yuzu, before she glanced back to Hotaru, "I was just telling Hotaru-chan how she should just dump that boyfriend of her's already," she added, causing for Hotaru to widen her eyes, before she glared to Matsuri a little, Matsuri simply just brushing off her warning stare.

This caused Yuzu to shift her eyes from Matsuri to Hotaru for a bit, as now it wasn't just Yuma that had said that Hotaru's boyfriend was bad news and she should just leave him already, but Matsuri seemed to be saying the same thing, _'Why is Hotaru still with this guy if both Yuma-chan and Matsuri think she should break up with him? He definitely seems like a bad guy, so why is Hotaru torturing herself by staying with him?'_ Yuzu thought, before Hotaru speaking up caught her attention.

"Come on, you guys make it sound like Fujiwara is some kind of monster or something, he's not that bad really,"

Hotaru stated with a nervous smile, while her hand was now trembling as it rested over Yuma's. Yuma noticing this as she looked to Hotaru's trembling hand, and guessed that she was hiding away her true feelings, putting on an act like she always does.

Yuma sighed slightly as she held into Hotaru's hand now and squeezed it tightly, catching Hotaru's attention as she looked to the blonde sitting beside her now, "Matsuri-san is right Hotaru, you really shouldn't continue to just let Fujiwara constantly use and hurt you like this, it isn't right," Yuma stated with a confident look on her face, causing Hotaru to look taken aback, while the others all went a little silent upon the serious tension now seeming to be between the other two girls.

' _But isn't that exactly what I'm doing to you Yuma? So why haven't you left me yet?'_ Is what Hotaru felt like saying, but pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind, before she regained her composure and smiled to Yuma, squeezing her hand back tightly,

"I know he's hurt me in the past, and thank you for worrying about me Yuma-chan, but there's really no need to, I'm fine really, okay?" Hotaru smiled to Yuma, as she spoke in a clam and what seemed like a genuine tone of voice, but with a girl like her you could never really be sure whether she was being honest or not.

"Besides we shouldn't be talking about Fujiwara at a time like this, Yuma-chan and I are supposed to be helping Mei-san and Yuzu-chan out with their relationship right?"

Hotaru changed the subject, as she turned back to look at the other three girls, moving to let go of Yuma's hand, but Yuma stopping her from doing so as she kept a tight hold, and was determined to not let her hand slip away from her protective grasp.

"I already told we don't need…" Yuzu paused for a moment as she was going to say that her and Mei didn't need ant help, but then stopped and thought for a moment, an idea popping into her mind, as she smiled a little,

"…I mean, we do need your help, very much in fact," Yuzu stated as she nodded with a smile, causing all the others to now look to her with questioning expressions.

"Really?" Hotaru asked as she seemed a little surprised, looking to Yuzu with a curious expression now.

"Oh yes, we so desperately need your help, so would you and Yuma-chan be willing to lend us a hand, please?" Yuzu asked, her voice raising a little as she thought that she might as well really sell it if she was going to convince Hotaru, and get her to agree to her request.

"Yuzu?" Mei now questioned as she was wondering just what the blonde was planning by saying all this, and why she was dragging her into it as well,"

"Don't worry Mei, just trust me okay?"

Yuzu whispered to her younger sister, smiling to her before giving her a slight wink, causing Mei to just roll her eyes in return and sigh slightly, guessing that she wouldn't be able to talk Yuzu out of this idea, now that she had already made up her mind to go through with it.

"If you're sure, then yes I would be happy to help you and Mei-san out," Hotaru now smiled, causing Yuzu to mentally high-five herself as it seemed like Hotaru had fallen for her act,

"Thank you, that would be great," Yuzu replied mentally congratulating herself as her plan to get Hotaru to agree to her idea had worked.

"And I'm sure Yuma-chan will help too right, Yuma-chan?" Hotaru asked as she now looked to Yuma, and noticed that she was sitting with a surprised look on her face still, seeming a little lost for words at the moment.

"Huh? Oh yeah sure," Yuma nodded her head as she recovered, and smiled to Hotaru slightly, causing her to nod back to her with a smile in return,

"Umm Yuzu-chan…I can I talk with you for a moment?"

Yuma now asked as she let go of Hotaru's hand, and stood up, gesturing for the other blonde to come and follow her, which Yuzu did as she stood up from the table and nodded happily, following Yuma to the corner of the café, while this other's all soon slipped back into a casual conversation.

"What are you thinking Yuzu-chan?" Yuma asked in a whispered yet panicked voice, not understanding where Yuzu was going with this idea of her's.

"Well I'm thinking that it might just improve your and Hotaru's relationship if you and her help Mei and I with ours," Yuzu smiled as she whispered back, already thinking of ways she could be of help to Yuma like she had said she was going to a couple of days ago.

"But Yuzu, you don't know Hotaru like I do, you don't know what goes on inside that twisted mind of her's, and to be honest neither do I, but doing this is a bad idea, I mean we can't just-

"Shhh…" Yuzu silenced Yuma's worried ranting as she pressed a finger to the other blonde's lips, and spoke to her in a calming voice,

"Relax Yuma-chan, everything will be fine, besides how bad could it possibly be?" Yuzu asked with a smile, guessing that Yuma was just worrying over nothing, not knowing just what lay in store for her and Mei from here. While Yuma sighed slightly hoping that Hotaru wouldn't go too far with this opportunity that had now been placed right in front of her.

….

And so within a couple of hours, Mei, Yuzu, Yuma, and Hotaru had said goodbye to Matsuri leaving on the train back to the train station that they had met up at earlier today. And Hotaru had messaged Fujiwara, telling him they were going to be staying a little longer, and didn't need to be picked up just yet.

Mei had wanted to go back home, but instead Hotaru had asked her to get the keys from her Grandfather to the school, as she had forgotten something when they were there a couple of days ago, Mei and Yuzu only realizing that that had been another one of Hotaru's little tricks.

As the group of four now all sat in one of the empty classrooms together, Yuma and Yuzu sitting behind two desks, while they had been made to wear the school's uniform. Mei and Hotaru standing in front of the two blondes, both of them leaning against the teacher's desk, as they were dressed in the school uniform as well, just without the blazer and tie.

"Told you this was a bad idea,"

Yuma commented as she glanced over to Yuzu, and sighed slightly, while Yuzu just glanced back to her, looking awfully nervous, as she hadn't known what exactly to expect from Hotaru, but she could have never guessed something like this would happen.

Yuzu looked to her younger sister for a moment, as she kinda wished she hadn't asked for Hotaru to 'help' her and Mei with their relationship now, while Mei just stared blankly back at her, clearly blaming her for all this, and rightly so.

Sighing Yuzu rested her head on the desk, hoping that whatever Hotaru may have planned for them, might not be so bad after all, however also getting the feeling that she couldn't be more wrong in her thinking.


	5. Helping To Improve Relationships

**Author's Notes: **

**I don't own Citrus or Netsuzou Trap, or any of their characters, no copyright is intended!**

 **This is a crossover story with Citrus and NTR (Netsuzou Trap) by the way. ;)**

 _Italics - Means the person is thinking just so you know.  
_

 **Warning: This contains yuri (girl x girl) pairings as well as pseudo-incest, don't like? Don't read simple, otherwise enjoy. ^_^ **

**...**

An awkward and uncomfortable silence had now fallen on the group of four girls, Yuzu looked around the room nervously as she sat shifting her eyes between each of the other three girls, her anxiety growing as she had no idea what to expect from Hotaru, and just what she may have planned for them all.

Meanwhile Yuma just sighed slightly, knowing what Hotaru was like, and just trying to guess what the dark haired girl had up her sleeve this time. Hotaru and Mei continued to lean against the teacher's desk, Hotaru smiling as she looked over to Mei, only gaining a slight blank stare back, as Mei stood with an uninterested expression on her face.

"Aww don't give me such a cold stare Mei-san, this is all just for fun right, as well as to help improve your and Yuzu-chan's relationship of course," Hotaru pouted to Mei slightly, only causing for Mei to seem annoyed now, as she narrowed her eyebrows, and gave out a slight sigh before speaking.

"I don't see how any of this is 'for fun' or to 'improve mine and Yuzu's relationship', when you tricked me into taking the key to the school from my Grandfather, just so you could get Yuzu and I to play your little game," Mei stated cursing herself a little on the inside for being foolish enough to fall for Hotaru's tricks.

"But it's much more than just a game, I believe you and Yuzu-chan can really learn something from this little experience,"

Hotaru simply said as she just brushed off the slight glare she was getting from Mei right now, while Mei rolled her eyes and looked away from her, sighing deeply, and kinda wishing that they had left Hotaru and Yuma with Matsuri, instead of them coming back with her and Yuzu.

"Umm…so why are we in the school anyway? And also why are we dressed in the school uniform?" Yuzu asked as she nervously lifted a hand and caught Hotaru's attention, feeling a little afraid to ask what was going on right now, but hoping that it wouldn't be anything too bad, or something Mei would make her apologise and pay for later, since she was the one at fault for getting them mixed up in this after all.

"Well you see Yuzu-chan, it has been brought to my attention that although you and Mei-san here have been together for quite some time now, you haven't really gotten that far in your relationship, and besides you asked if I would help you out, and that is exactly what I'm doing now," Hotaru explained being awfully vague about what her intentions were at this point, causing Yuzu to just become even more confused and afraid for where this situation was going right now.

"What do you mean by that?" Yuzu asked nervously shifting her eyes again, wondering at this point if Hotaru was trying to help her and Mei out, or if she was just simply doing this for her own enjoyment right now.

"I mean exactly what I said,"

Hotaru stated with her classic innocent smile, as she jumped up to sit on the teacher's desk behind her, before she caught Mei's attention and gestured a finger to her, asking her to come closer to her, so that she could talk to her without the other two hearing.

Hesitating a little Mei just stood still and continued to look to Hotaru with a blank stare, however when Hotaru started to make gestures like she was telling a dog to come up to her, Mei just rolled her eyes, and leaned in closer to the other girl, not wanting to be made a fool of, but deciding to play along with Hotaru's little game if it would get her to leave her alone afterwards.

Yuzu and Yuma sat looking to the other two girls, as Hotaru sat whispering into Mei's ear, Mei seeming uninterested still, yet also seeming like she was listening nonetheless, as she would nod her head slightly every now and again, her blank stare never seeming to change until Hotaru leaned away from her ear and gestured towards Yuzu for a moment.

Yuzu looked between Hotaru and Mei, wondering just what Hotaru had told her younger sister, while she nervously glanced over to Yuma, the other blonde looking just as confused as to what was going on at this moment as she was.

"Go on Mei-san, go stand beside Yuzu-chan,"

Hotaru smiled as she pointed to Yuzu, and gestured for Mei to go over to the blonde, while Yuzu sat looking to Mei, wondering just what Mei was going to do once she came over, and also wondering if her sister would play along with Hotaru's game or not.

Not seeming to have anymore hesitation in her mind Mei simply nodded and did as she was told, walking over to Yuzu slowly, before she stopped just at her side, and leaned down to her a little, resting a hand on her desk, and looking to her with what looked like a wondering expression.

Yuzu not knowing how to react as she just looked back to Mei for a moment, feeling her heart starting to beat faster in her chest, as it seemed like Mei was getting closer and closer by the second, her dark lavender eyes drawing the blonde in, as they stayed locked onto her bright emerald ones.

"That's good, now lean down and tell her what I told you, okay?"

Hotaru instructed as she smiled to Mei. Mei looking back to the other dark haired girl for a moment, before she nodded her head slowly and looked down to Yuzu again, moving to stand behind her sister a moment later, leaning against the blonde's shoulder, and causing Yuzu to freeze up instantly.

"M-M-M-Mei?"

Yuzu questioned in a nervous stutter, a slight blush now spreading across her cheeks, as she could feel Mei's chest pressing against her back. Shivering slightly Yuzu bawled her hands into tight fists, feeling her heart now racing inside her chest, while her mind was going crazy over the fact that Mei was so close to her that she could feel her body heat against her own right now.

"Is there anything that you need help with, Onee-chan?" Mei asked as she spoke in a low voice, her warm breath tickling Yuzu's ear, as Yuzu went completely red from not only feeling Mei's breath on her skin, but also from hearing her call her, 'Onee-chan'.

"N-no there…there's nothing…I…I…"

Yuzu paused, her words leaving her as she wasn't able to manage to say anything more, her mouth hanging open a little as she looked upto Mei, wondering what had gotten into her all of a sudden, and if all this was what Hotaru had told her to do and say, then why was she simply going along with it without any protests it seemed.

"Are you sure? Onee-chan you're all red, could you have a fever maybe?"

Mei asked as she leaned more into Yuzu and looked down to her with a concerned expression, resting a hand on the blonde's forehead, causing Yuzu to tremble all over, while Mei just stood staring into her emerald eyes again,

"Hmm…you really are burning up aren't you?" Mei asked, as she slowly removed her hand, and instead rested her own forehead against Yuzu's, while she slowly rested her hand over one of Yuzu's clenched fists, and stroked her skin softly.

Yuzu looked down to where Mei's hand was as she felt her mind starting to go blank, her whole body reaching an alarming heat, while she nervously tried to pull her gaze away from her sister, but each time she did, she would be drawn back to looking deep into Mei's breath-taking eyes,

' _Mei...she's so close I can feel her breath against my lips, and her hand is so warm over mine…Mei…stop this…if you continue…I…I won't be able to hold back anymore,'_ Yuzu thought as she felt herself melting, losing the will to keep fighting against what her emotions were telling her to do right now, before she shook her head, and snapped out of her trance.

"M-Mei…you're too close…"

Yuzu mumbled out, as she slowly turned her head away from Mei, blushing deeply, as she tried to keep her eyes focused on her desk now, but only ended up shivering, when she felt Mei lean into her again, whispering the words, 'Yuzu onee-chan', into her ear, causing Yuzu to tremble, and clench her teeth together, biting back a slight pleasant moan, while she desperately tried to stop herself from just giving in and surrendering to her younger sister.

Sitting back with a smile on her lips, Hotaru admired the way that Mei had followed her instructions pretty much perfectly, smirking slightly when she saw how Yuzu was desperately trying to hold herself back against her sister, seeming to be fighting a losing battle, as Hotaru could tell it wouldn't be long before Yuzu caved and finally gave in to her own desires.

Yuma sat sighing heavily as she looked over to Hotaru with a slight glare, catching her attention when she spoke, "Hotaru stop this," Yuma said as she sat back on her chair and folded her arms, while she stared sternly to Hotaru.

"Stop what?" Hotaru asked as she now turned to look to Yuma with a smile, acting completely oblivious to why Yuma seemed annoyed at her now,

"Oh I get it, you're feeling lonely right Yuma-chan. Do you want some attention too?" Hotaru asked as her smile now turned into more of a smirk, as she slowly slid off the teacher's desk.

"What? I...that's not it!" Yuma stumbled over her words a little, as she nervously tried to regain her confidence, determined to not play into Hotaru's hands.

"Really? Then Yuma-chan why don't you try calling me, 'Onee-sama'?" Hotaru asked with a smile as she walked over to Yuma, standing beside the blonde now, as she leaned down to her a little.

"O-Onee-sama?" Yuma questioned, blushing a little as she could feel Hotaru's chest pressing against her shoulder, as Hotaru now stood leaning over her slightly, leaning into her neck, and smiling as she whispered into her ear,

"That's good Yuma-chan," Hotaru whispered as she lay a light kiss on Yuma's ear, causing the blonde to shiver in response. Hotaru traveling down a moment later as she lightly pecked the back of Yuma's neck.

"H-Hotaru…wait…don't…"

Yuma paused as she let a small moan escape her lips, feeling her heart already pounding in her chest, and her breathing becoming heavy, finding it hard to keep herself from melting completely and submitting to the dark haired girl's advances.

"Don't what?"

Hotaru asked in a whisper, a seducing tone now in her voice, as she lay another light kiss on the back of Yuma's neck. Yuma shivering all over as she kept her head turned away from Hotaru, knowing that the moment she looked to her, she would lose herself.

Desperately trying to regain her composure Yuma closed her eyes for a moment, trying to slow down her breathing, while her mind was slowly going blank, and all she could do was hope that something would save her before she gave into Hotaru's light kisses, and her seducing voice.

And luckily for her something actually did, as a moment later Hotaru's phone in her pocket sprung to life, as it rang loudly, singling that someone was trying to call her. The sudden loud noise surprising all of the four girls, as Yuzu, Yuma and Mei all looked to Hotaru now, while she just sighed heavily and stood back up straight, taking her phone out of her pocket a moment later, and answering it in what seemed to be an annoyed way.

Yuma sighed slightly as it seemed she had been saved just in time, as she rested her hand over her racing heart, and tried her best to calm it down. While her and the other two looked to Hotaru, as the dark haired girl talked on her phone, seeming uninterested, yet chipper at first, but then slightly disappointed as her slight smile turned into a frown.

"No, no that's fine. Yeah I'm sure we'll find a place for tonight,"

Hotaru sighed slightly as she nodded her head, before she said 'Goodbye, and thank you' to whoever she was talking to on the phone, before she slowly slipped her phone back into her pocket, rubbing her forehead in distress. While the others all looked to her, wondering who had called her, and why she now seemed so disheartened all of a sudden.

"Who was that?" Yuma asked as she looked to Hotaru with a concerned expression, hoping that whatever Hotaru had just gotten a call about, wasn't too much of a worry for the dark haired girl.

"It was Fujiwara, he said he won't be able to pick us up tonight, so we'll have to find some place here to stay the night, until he can come in the morning for us," Hotaru explained as she turned round to face Yuma now, and smiled slightly to her, her act now back it seemed

"Oh well that's okay, we can find a place right? I'm sure there's hotels around here," Yuma stated, trying to be helpful and reassure Hotaru a little, although not actually knowing if they would be able to find somewhere to stay tonight.

"Maybe, but we don't have the money for it,"

Hotaru pointed out, reminding Yuma that the only money they brought with them was enough for the train ride to and back from meeting Matsuri, so now they definitely wouldn't have any more in order to by a room at a hotel for the night.

"Oh right, I guess you've got a point there,"

Yuma nervously smiled as she knew that they wouldn't have the money for a hotel room, especially not at such short notice, now trying to think of something else that might work, while Hotaru sighed again, guessing that they might just have to sneak into somewhere for the night or something.

While the two were thinking, Yuzu sat looking to the both of them for a moment, feeling her heart go out to the two, and desperately wanted to reach out and help them, as she sat thinking for a moment, before an idea popped into her head and she smiled brightly.

"I've got an idea!" Yuzu stated proudly as she caught Hotaru and Yuma's attention now, smiling to them both brightly, "Why don't you two stay over at our house tonight?" Yuzu suggested as she was sure that it would be okay for Hotaru and Yuma to stay the night at their house tonight.

"Really?" Hotaru asked as her and Yuma now looked to Yuzu, both of them looking surprised over such a generous offer being suggested to them.

"Are you sure Yuzu?"

Yuma asked as she and Hotaru looked to each other, unsure if it would be too much trouble for them to stay the night, and Yuzu was just doing this to be kind, without thinking about what issues may arise because of this idea of her's.

"Of course, you two need a place to stay right, and Mei and I would love for you two to stay over at ours," Yuzu nodded as she smiled brightly, before her collar was suddenly pulled at, her attention now brought on to her sister, as Mei had grabbed hold of her collar and was now giving her a stern stare.

"What are you doing Yuzu?" Mei questioned, staring to Yuzu with a warning glare now, while Yuzu smiled nervously, while putting both of her hands up in defence.

"Don't worry Mei, they can sleep in Mom's room since she's going to be going into work late tonight and won't be back until the morning, plus I'm sure she won't mind having company over for dinner," Yuzu tried to reason with her sister, as she knew their Mother wouldn't mind having guests stay round, even if it was short notice.

"That doesn't make it okay, we only met these two a few days ago, and now you want to invite them into our home?" Mei asked as both her and Yuzu's voices were in whispered tones, so that Yuma and Hotaru wouldn't be able to hear them.

Yuzu just smiled slightly, knowing that it would probably take a lot to try and convince Mei that everything would be fine, and even then she may not agree to the idea of the other two girls staying round at their house for the night.

"Come on Mei, it's only for one night, and we can't just let them go and sleep on the street right?" Yuzu asked, showing her best puppy dog face to Mei, while she looked upto her sister with pleading eyes, her bottom lip pouting, acting like she was going to cry if Mei turned down her idea again.

Mei looked down to Yuzu with a slight glare still, before she looked over to Yuma and Hotaru, seeing the hopeful looks in their eyes, before she looked back to Yuzu's pleading expression, and let out a heavy sigh, giving in finally.

"Fine they can stay, but just for tonight," Mei stated, making sure to let Yuzu know that it was just going to be for tonight, and she wouldn't be able to invite them to stay for a second night or anything like that.

"Yes, yes, of course," Yuzu nodded with a smile to Mei, before she turned back to Yuma and Hotaru, "So it's settled then, you two are staying with us tonight," Yuzu announced proudly, while Yuma and Hotaru both smiled back to her, thanking Yuzu and Mei and honestly not believing that they deserved such kindness.

…

"Mom we're home!"

Yuzu called out to her Mother as the four girls had now arrived at Yuzu and Mei's home, all of them taking their shoes off together, while they heard a cheerful voice calling back to them a minute later.

"And we brought visitors," Mei added as Yuzu looked to her with a slight glare, Mei simply brushing the look off, as she turned away from Yuzu and walked into the hallway.

"Oh what a lovely surprise, are these two girls friends from school?"

Yuzu's Mother asked as she came walking into the hallway her face seeming surprised once she saw the two strangers at her door, but soon softened into a kind smile as Yuma and Hotaru bowed, while looking nervously to her.

"No we found them on the street and Yuzu begged me to let them come home with us," Mei stated, gaining another glare from Yuzu, as it was obvious that Mei was not pleased about the fact that these two girls who they hadn't known for very long, were now going to be staying with them for the night.

"Mei, stop that!" Yuzu scolded her sister, while Mei just rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen, ignoring the stern stare that she was still getting from the blonde.

Sighing slightly Yuzu wasn't about to let Mei's sour attitude ruin tonight, as she now shook her head a little, and turned back to her Mother,

"We got to know them a few days ago, after they came to our school looking for Mei, the only problem is they have nowhere to go tonight, and they aren't being picked up until tomorrow. So I was thinking that since you're going into work late tonight, and not coming back until the morning, could they stay in your room for the night maybe?" Yuzu asked as she smiled to her Mother, looking to her with pleading eyes.

Yuzu's Mother raised an eyebrow to her daughter, before she looked to Yuma and Hotaru, smiling a minute later to them all, "Alright but just for tonight, and keep the place tidy while I'm gone, got it?" she stated with a smile, causing Yuzu to sigh with relief, and Hotaru and Yuma to smile back to her.

"Got it!" Yuzu nodded with a smile to her Mother, before her Mother just nodded her head in return, walking to join Mei in the Kitchen a moment later. "See told it would be fine," Yuzu said as she smiled to Hotaru and Yuma, reassuring them that they didn't need to be so anxious with her Mother.

"We really can't thank you enough for this Yuzu, we wouldn't have known what to do if you hadn't offered for us to stay round at yours," Hotaru thanked Yuzu with a smile, while Yuma stood nodding her head, as it still hadn't fully clicked in her mind yet that Yuzu's Mother had just said 'Yes' to them.

"No thanks needed, we're friends after all right?" Yuzu simply stated with a smile to the two girls, causing them to widen their eyes in reply, glancing to each other, before they smiled and nodded back to Yuzu.

"And don't worry, I'm sure Mei will come around soon enough,"

Yuzu whispered as she glanced over to her younger sister, and knew that deep down Mei had wanted the two to stay at theirs for the night as well, rather than them having to find somewhere else for tonight, even though she may have just agreed to this in order to shut Yuzu up. Either way Yuzu was glad Mei had approved of the idea, even if she didn't like it all that much.

"Sorry for the intrusion then," Hotaru and Yuma both said as Yuzu happily showed them to the kitchen and dining room, all of them soon sitting down at the table to eat dinner together.

Mei seeming uninterested and silent throughout the whole of the evening, while everyone else all chatted happily to one another, time seeming to fly in the mist of all the talking, as it was soon time for Yuzu's Mom to leave for work, leaving her daughters and their guests to clear away all the dishes, before they would all be heading to bed soon enough.

….

Sighing slightly now Mei sat on the edge of her and Yuzu's bed, looking to her elder sister, as she watched her walk back a forth, pacing frantically while asking countless questions to herself quietly, not answering any of them.

"What if they don't like the pajamas I lent to them, what if they don't fit, they should, but what if they don't? And what if they can't sleep because of the unfamiliar room in an unfamiliar house? What if they don't get any sleep at all? This was a terrible idea, and I shouldn't have suggested it in the first place. Oh what's wrong with me Mei?"

Yuzu asked in a panicked voice, looking to Mei with a worried and anxious expression, Mei guessing that the blonde was wanting an answer, but instead she just shrugged her shoulders and glanced away from her sister for a moment.

' _Sometimes I ask myself the very same question about you Yuzu,'_ Mei thought, before she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind, and sat forward, looking to Yuzu again, and calling to her to catch her attention, as the blonde had gone back to pacing frantically again.

"There no need to be so worked up about this Yuzu, I'm sure they're fine in our Mother's room," Mei stated as she hoped Yuzu would calm down soon, so that she could sleep without being disturbed by the blonde,

"But what if that isn't true?"

"Then who cares, just get into bed already Yuzu," Mei said in a slightly raised voice, getting slightly annoyed at this point, wondering how on Earth she was going to get any sleep tonight if this is what Yuzu was going to be like.

"You're right, they should be just fine," Yuzu smiled nervously now as she took note to the fact that she was only making Mei annoyed by asking her questions, when she was tired and wanted to go to sleep already.

Sighing slightly again, but with relief this time, Mei watched as Yuzu quickly got into bed and snuggled into the covers, choosing to try and push her nerves and worries to the back of her mind for now, as to not cause for Mei to become angry with her.

Mei lay down now as she pulled the covers over her, snuggling into the bed as well, while she faced away from Yuzu, just in case the blonde decided to sit up and start asking questions again or something, and for a little while it seemed that she was safe, hearing only a slight sigh come from her sister, complete silence filling the room otherwise.

Smiling slightly Mei closed her eyes and began to relax, wanting sleep to overcome her soon, just in case Yuzu got up in the night, but as soon as she got comfortable, she felt the bed rustling a little, sighing deeply as she rolled over and looked to her sister, who had now climbed out of bed, and was standing, looking to the door, an anxious expression on her face.

"What are you doing Yuzu?" Mei asked as she reluctantly sat up in the bed, looking to her sister, while she stood in silence for a moment, turning back to look to Mei a few minutes later.

"You know maybe I should just go and check on them," Yuzu smiled, as it seemed like she was asking Mei if she could leave, rather than simply stating that she was going.

Mei raised her eyebrow to Yuzu slightly, causing Yuzu to look back to her with pleading eyes, almost begging her to say that it was okay for her to leave, and she wasn't going to get mad at the blonde over it.

"Fine, do whatever you want,"

Mei replied, before she simply lay back down in the bed, and faced away from Yuzu again, hoping that she could drift off to sleep while the blonde was out of the room, while Yuzu nodded happily with a bright smile,

"I'll be back in a minute then,"

Yuzu stated, before she left out the door, and started to quietly make her way over to her Mother's bedroom, hoping that Hotaru and Yuma were finding everything okay, and weren't having trouble with anything at all.

...

Meanwhile Yuma was sitting on Yuzu's Mom's bed, as she sat rubbing her sleeve a little, feeling uncomfortable about wearing the pajamas that Yuzu had lent to her, knowing that they were most probably either Yuzu's or Mei's, while she watched Hotaru changing, as the dark haired girl stood in front of the mirror, looking over herself.

"This nightshirt is a little tight,"

Hotaru sighed a little as she turned round, and frowned at the buttons on her nightshirt that were just about barely staying together in order to keep her breasts from being exposed, wondering if she could maybe just wear her own clothes for bed, since it seemed as though the ones she had been lent didn't fit her all that well.

"That's probably because your chest is so big," Yuma mumbled out as she blushed a little at the way Hotaru's chest was stretching the nightshirt she was wearing, before she looked away and shook her head a little.

"What was that Yuma-chan?" Hotaru asked as she looked to Yuma for a moment.

"Umm…nothing," Yuma replied nervously as she smiled to Hotaru, before she turned away from her, not actually realizing that she had said what she was thinking, until Hotaru had asked her to repeat herself.

"Hey Yuma-chan are you okay? You haven't really spoken to me since we finished eating dinner with Yuzu-chan, Mei-san and their Mother," Hotaru asked as she now came walking over to Yuma, and crouched down in front of her, looking to her with a wondering expression.

"Of course I'm fine Hotaru, just feeling a little tired I guess," Yuma answered nervously turning away from Hotaru again, before she blushed at the dark haired girl getting closer to her.

"Are you sure?"

Hotaru asked as she now sat just inches away from Yuma, as their foreheads were almost touching, Yuma looking back to Hotaru, as she swallowed slowly, before turning her head away again, resting her hand on Hotaru's chest to push her away, while she could already feel her heart starting to race.

"Hotaru…stop that," Yuma spoke in a whispered voice, speaking through clenched teeth, as she held herself back, and refused to let the dark haired girl get to her so easily.

"Stop what?"

Hotaru asked as she tilted her head slightly, resting her hand over Yuma's clenched fist a moment later, causing the blonde to freeze up, as she took a deep breath, and tried to calm her pounding heart down.

"Quit teasing me already," Yuma mumbled out as she looked down to Hotaru's hand resting over her own for a moment, before she let her fist relax under Hotaru's hand, allowing her to grab onto her own hand, and squeeze it tightly, "We can't do those kind of things here,"

"Why not, we're alone right now, aren't we?" Hotaru asked with a slight smirk now making its way onto her lips, while she leaned closer into Yuma, causing the blonde to recoil a little in response,

"That's not what I meant. Wait….Hotaru…"

Yuma paused as a moment later Hotaru ignored her, and locked their lips into a kiss, surprising Yuma a little, before she just sighed into the kiss recovering and slowing down her breathing, determined to not melt into Hotaru's advances here.

Letting the kiss last a few minutes more, Yuma narrowed her eyes as she wasn't going to put up with Hotaru's antics tonight, as she closed her eyes, before she grabbed Hotaru by her shoulder and pinned her down onto the bed, holding her down as their lips broke apart. Hotaru looking upto Yuma now, surprised by what she had just done.

While Yuma leaned over Hotaru and panted heavily, her heart still beating wildly in her chest, as she was now holding onto Hotaru's hand tightly and had already interlocked their fingers, glaring down to the dark haired girl laying beneath her now.

"Yuma-chan?" Hotaru questioned as her eyes were wide in surprise, while she didn't know how to react to Yuma actually ending their kiss, and forcing her down onto the bed without any waring.

"I said stop Hotaru, we can't just do these kind of things in other people's houses!" Yuma stated sternly as she glared down to Hotaru, holding onto her shoulder and hand tightly, while she was actually surprising herself as well as Hotaru right now.

Panting heavily while she had more to say, but her confidence quickly seemed to be fading as she looked down to Hotaru, and saw her blushing, surprised expression, the two gazing into each other's eyes in silence for a moment, before they both heard a slight knock at the door.

Both Hotaru and Yuma looked to the door, as the handle was rattled since neither of them had answered, the door opening a moment later, while Yuma and Hotaru stayed completely frozen when they saw Yuzu now standing there.

"Hey I was just wondering if you two were…"

Yuzu paused as she froze as well for a moment, stunted by the surprising scene that was now playing out in front of her, as she looked to Yuma pinning down a blushing Hotaru, while their hands were still holding onto one another tightly, and Hotaru's nightshirt had been opened to reveal her bare chest.

The three girls all were frozen in an uncomfortable silence, before Yuzu soon just shook her head slightly, recovering as she just smiled before grabbing hold of the door handle, and stepping out of the room as quickly as she had entered it.

"Never mind you two seem busy, we can talk in the morning, sorry for interrupting you," Yuzu said in a rushed, nervous voice, before she closed the door and quickly ran back to her and Mei's bedroom, leaving Yuma and Hotaru to just stare at the closed door for a few more minutes of silence, before Hotaru spoke up.

"Looks like we were caught again,"

Hotaru smiled slightly as she had regained her composure now, and wasn't so surprised anymore, although there was still a slight blush staining her cheeks, as she lay beneath Yuma, wondering what the blonde would do next.

Yuma just looked back down to Hotaru with another glare, "That was your fault Hotaru," she stated her tone hinted with slight anger.

"But you're the one that pinned me down on the bed Yuma," Hotaru pointed out as she simply just brushed off the blonde's warning glare, and continued to smile back upto her, wondering if she was going to let her up or not anytime soon.

Widening her eyes a little Yuma quickly lost all the confidence and courage she had a moment ago, as she now loosened her grip on Hotaru's shoulder and slowly let go of her hand, glancing down a little as she had only now noticed that Hotaru's first three buttons on her nightshirt had come undone, and her breasts were now exposed but not completely showing, since her nightshirt was still covering them a little.

"Your top's come undone,"

Yuma mumbled out nervously, as she now sat back on the bed, and let Hotaru sit up, turning away from her as she rubbed her arm, not understanding where that sudden burst of courage actually had come from.

"And whose fault is that?" Hotaru asked as she smiled slightly, fastening her buttons back up, before she looked back to Yuma, and called to her, only to get ignored by the blonde.

"Just go to sleep already," Yuma said, as she quickly got into the bed and pulled the covers over her, closing her eyes, and turning away from Hotaru again.

Sighing a little Hotaru just looked to Yuma with a concerned expression, before she lay down next to Yuma, and moved a little closer to her, wrapping her arms around the blonde's waist a moment later, while she held her close, and nuzzled into her back a little.

Yuma felt like telling Hotaru to 'let go' but felt like she just didn't have the energy to protest right now, as she just lay relaxed in Hotaru's embrace, choosing to just ignore her instead, thinking that she would let go if she didn't get a reaction.

"Seems like I keep making you mad huh?"

Hotaru whispered out as she breathed deeply, and nuzzled into Yuma's back more, her eyes cast down, while she didn't move to make any advances like Yuma thought she was going to do in this situation.

"I'm not mad at you Hotaru," Yuma stated in a low voice, before she sighed, and reached her hand down to rest over Hotaru's, "I just don't like it when you tease and play around with me like that," she added, smiling slightly when she felt Hotaru grab onto her hand, and hold it tightly.

"I'm sorry Yuma-chan," Hotaru whispered after a short pause, ducking her head down a little, as she squeezed Yuma's hand, and stroked the back of her thumb lightly.

"I know,"

Yuma simply replied, before she surprised Hotaru by interlocking their fingers, closing her eyes a moment later, while Hotaru was taken aback at first, but soon smiled slightly as she gave Yuma's hand another tight squeeze, before she closed her eyes and the two were soon drifting off to sleep together, their hands still tightly holding onto each other.

….

Unfortunately it seemed like Mei had gotten a slight case of insomnia, as she was still laying wide awake in her and Yuzu's bed, trying to get to sleep, but to no avail it would seem, as now she just sighed heavily, and felt like giving up, freezing up a little when she heard the bedroom door open and close quietly signalling that Yuzu was now back.

The blonde climbed into bed silently, as she just sat for a minute fluffing her pillow, and getting comfortable, before she heard Mei's voice, and stopped what she was doing,

"Were they asleep?" Mei asked as she looked to Yuzu, but wasn't turned to face her, as she wondered why Yuzu had only been gone for a few minutes.

"Huh? Oh yeah they were both fast asleep, just like babies," Yuzu stated nervously, a little surprised that Mei hadn't fallen asleep yet, but then again she hadn't been gone for that long after all.

"Then maybe you should do the same," Mei said in a low voice, as she closed her eyes again, and tried to get to sleep, hoping that Yuzu wouldn't start up a conversation now that she knew she was awake.

"Yeah, I guess you're right,"

Yuzu smiled nervously, thinking of laying down, but instead staying sitting as she thought back on the position that she had seen Hotaru and Yuma in, wondering if it was just a misunderstanding, or if the two were actually planning on doing what Yuzu thought they were in the middle of.

Lost in thought for a moment Yuzu wondered just why Yuma was the one that had seemed to be the aggressor, instead of it being Hotaru like she had thought it always was. While Hotaru was surprisingly the one being forcefully pinned down onto the bed by the blonde, not to mention that they were holding hands, and the fact that Hotaru's nightshirt had been undone.

"Hey, Mei?" Yuzu now caught Mei's attention as she thought back on this crazy day that they had both been caught up in,

"What?" Mei asked, her voice seeming slightly annoyed, but not yet angry, as she didn't bother turning to Yuzu, or even opening her eyes this time.

"You know all that stuff that Hotaru had told you to do and say to me back at the school earlier this afternoon?" Yuzu asked as she looked down to her sister, hoping she would answer her, and not just brush her off.

"What about it?" Mei asked, her eyes open now, but she still remained facing away from Yuzu.

"I was just wondering, did you do and say all that stuff just because Hotaru told you to, or was it because you actually wanted to do and say those kind of things to me?" Yuzu asked, blushing a little when she remembered all the things that Mei had done and said to her back in that empty classroom earlier today.

Mei didn't answer for a little while, as she just lay silent, causing Yuzu to think that she wasn't going to answer, and was just ignoring her now. However Yuzu was glad to be proven wrong, as Mei sat up a moment later and turned to look to the blonde.

"A bit of both I guess,"

Mei simply stated, while she guessed she wouldn't be getting much sleep with Yuzu in a talkative mood now, so she just decided to answer her in order for the blonde to maybe agree to actually letting her sleep once her questions were all answered.

"Really?" Yuzu asked, a little surprised by Mei's answer, as it had definitely hadn't been one that she was expecting.

Mei just replied with a nod, before she went on to elaborate her answer, "Well for the most part I was just simply going along with Hotaru's little game, just so that she would maybe leave me alone afterwards, but I guess I also didn't mind doing or saying those sorts of things to you," she explained, while seeming uninterested in this topic, and soon yawned a little from tiredness.

Yuzu just smiled slightly for a moment, as she was glad that Mei had actually answered her, and hadn't just ignored her like she normally would, not only that, but she had also gone into detail about how she had felt at the time, not seeming to mind talking about this at all.

"Well just for the record, I didn't really mind you doing and saying those sorts of things to me either, although I'll admit it was a surprise to hear you calling me, 'Onee-chan'," Yuzu stated as she smiled to Mei happily, thinking that maybe Hotaru really had helped her and Mei with their relationship in some way after all.

"Is that so?"

Mei asked as she now looked to Yuzu with a blank, unreadable expression, while she slowly moved closer to Yuzu and leaned into her suddenly, surprising Yuzu with a light kiss, before she had the chance to say anything.

Yuzu sat with her eyes wide for a moment, taken aback by the sudden kiss, and not knowing how to react to it, however she didn't have time to recover, and try and figure out how she was going to react, as Mei had now pushed her down onto the bed, but had broken the light kiss a moment after. Now just leaning over Yuzu, Mei looked down to her with that same blank stare, gazing deep into her emerald eyes, just like she had done in the classroom earlier.

"M-MEI?! What are you doing?" Yuzu asked in a raised, and nervous voice, her cheeks turning to a deep red, while she looked upto Mei and wondered what had gotten into her all of a sudden.

Not answering, Mei simply leaned down to Yuzu's ear, "Now go to sleep already, Onee-chan," she whispered, before she pulled away and sat back up straight again, waiting for Yuzu's answer.

Yuzu just swallowed loudly, before she nodded frantically in reply, as she felt her heart beating fast, and her whole face turning red. While Mei just smiled slightly down to her in return, turning away from Yuzu, as she lay back down and snuggled up in the covers again, hoping that sleep would come easier now that Yuzu had been dealt with,

Yuzu looked to Mei as she slowly started to recover from her daze, slowing down her breathing, while she now sighed deeply, before she glanced up at the ceiling, coming back to her senses a moment later, and choosing to leave Mei alone now, as she turned over and faced away from her sister.

' _Maybe having Hotaru around to 'help' Mei and I with our relationship isn't such a bad thing after all,'_ Yuzu thought as a slight smile now formed onto her lips, before she slowly closed her eyes, snuggling under the covers, as she soon let herself drift off to a peaceful sleep along with her younger sister, thinking that maybe Hotaru's 'helping' just might be doing some good to her and Mei's relationship after all.


	6. Helping To Fix An Unhealthy Relationship

**Author's Notes: **

**I don't own Citrus or Netsuzou Trap, or any of their characters, no copyright is intended!**

 **This is a crossover story with Citrus and NTR (Netsuzou Trap) by the way. ;)**

 **Warning: This contains yuri (girl x girl) pairings as well as pseudo-incest, don't like? Don't read simple, otherwise enjoy. ^_^ **

**...**

The following morning, Mei and Yuzu had awoken early and were now both in the kitchen together. Yuzu stood by the counter making breakfast for everyone, while Mei sat at the dining table, sighing slightly after not getting enough sleep last night because of her sister keeping her up half the night with her endless questions. Now she sat waiting for her breakfast to be ready, wanting to finish eating quickly, so that she could get some of her paperwork done, since it had been piling up lately, and her not having the time to do all of it just yet.

Watching the cheerful blonde as she set everyone's plates out, and prepared their drinks, Mei sat looking to her sister with a blank stare, having propped herself up on her elbow, while she sat waiting patiently, wondering for a moment when the other two were going to come and join them.

"Yuzu, shall I go and see if Hotaru-san and Okasaki-san are awake yet?" Mei asked as she stood up from her chair, and looked to the hallway, ready to head down to their Mother's bedroom once Yuzu had answered her.

"Yes please,"

Yuzu happily answered as she turned to Mei with a smile, nodding to her sister, before Mei nodded back, before walking off to go and see if their guests were awake and coming to have some breakfast with them.

Yuzu then turned back to the plates, nodding to herself proudly as she placed everyone's breakfast onto their plates, thinking for a minute, before her eyes widened and she instantly went running over to where her sister was now making her way to.

"Wait Mei!" Yuzu called as she ran after her sister, and halted her, catching her breath, while Mei just stood there seeming a little annoyed as she wondered why Yuzu had stopped her all of a sudden.

"What?"

Mei asked as she stood, folding her arms across her chest, waiting for Yuzu to answer, while the blonde nervously smiled, trying to think of an excuse why Mei shouldn't go to their Mother's room to collect their guests right now and should just stay put instead.

"Well umm…you know maybe we shouldn't rush them, besides I'm sure they'll be coming soon, so let's just go back into the kitchen and wait for them," Yuzu suggested, smiling nervously, as she coaxed Mei out of the hallway and back into the dining area, remembering what she had walked in on last night, and not wanting Mei to go and end up doing the same thing.

"Yuzu I thought you wanted me to go and check to see if they were coming to breakfast,"

Mei stated, looking to Yuzu with a slightly confused expression now, while she had allowed Yuzu to walk her back to the dining area, but was now refusing to sit back down in her chair, and continued to wait for Yuzu to move out of her way, and let her go and collect the other two girls.

"I did, but then again they're most probably up and about by now, and I'm sure they'll be coming for breakfast on their own soon, so there's really no point in you going to collect them," Yuzu anxiously explained, her voice rushed as she talked, holding onto Mei's shoulders all the while and stopping her from walking off to their Mother's bedroom.

"Yuzu what's going on, is there something that you're not telling me?" Mei asked as she looked to Yuzu sternly now, seeing through all her nervous excuses, and wondering just why the blonde was keeping her from going to see their guests.

"Umm…well…"

Yuzu paused as she tried think of something to say, but hesitated as it only caused for Mei to become more suspicious of her. Yuzu now just sighing heavily and giving up, knowing that she could never really hide anything from Mei even if she tried to, it would never work, it was just better to tell her the truth really.

"Listen last night when I went to go and check on Yuma-chan and Hotaru, I…I lied they weren't sleeping, far from it in fact. You see Mei I saw…I saw Yuma pinning Hotaru down to the bed, they were holding hands, and Hotaru's pajama top was undone, plus her face was quite flushed. So I'm not sure if what I walked in on was just a misunderstanding or not, but I don't want you accidently doing the same Mei,"

Yuzu explained sighing deeply now, as she confessed about what she actually saw Yuma and Hotaru doing last night, and hung her head a little low, thinking that Mei was going to get angry at her for lying to her.

Mei didn't seem all that surprised, as she simply continued to look to Yuzu with a wondering expression, "Did they explain to you what was going on?" she asked, seeming uninterested in the topic at hand, but still was refusing to sit back down in her chair again.

"Umm no, I kinda left before they had the chance to I guess," Yuzu stated nervously, her voice going a little lower now, feeling uncomfortable talking about this subject with Mei behind Yuma and Hotaru's backs.

"Well they shouldn't be doing such things while staying in other people's bedrooms," Mei stated, as she moved Yuzu out of the way and began to walk past her, Yuzu quickly running after her.

"But what if they weren't doing anything after all, and I just walked in at the wrong time, come on Mei it's possible right?" Yuzu nervously tried to stall Mei, stopping her from going to their Mother's room again by standing in front of her.

Mei just looked to Yuzu with a raised eyebrow, thinking of just pushing her out of the way, and walking past her again, but then both of them standing frozen for a moment, as they heard the sound of footsteps coming into the dining area from the hallway.

"What's going on with you two, you sure are lively in the morning," Yuma stated as she smiled to the two sisters, and greeted them both 'Good morning,'

"Ah good morning Yuma, sorry we were loud, but we were just wondering what was taking you and Hotaru so long, and we wanted to come and see if you two were coming to join use for breakfast," Yuzu explained as she now walked over to Yuma, while Mei simply just shrugged her shoulders, and headed to go and sit back down in her chair, guessing that they could now have breakfast since their guests were up after all.

"That would be nice thank you Yuzu-chan,"

Yuma nodded with smile, following Yuzu as the two walked into the dining area, and Yuma sat down in one of the free chairs, while Yuzu went to go and get the plates of food and glasses of juice from the kitchen.

"Sorry Hotaru and I were taking so long, she just didn't want to get up it seems, and it took forever to get her to let me get out of the room, since she kept stopping me over and over again," Yuma explained sighing slightly, as she was kinda glad to be away from Hotaru for a bit now, hoping that she wouldn't cause any more trouble for Mei and Yuzu like she had yesterday.

"So where is Hotaru-san now?" Mei asked, as she looked to Yuma, wondering why the two girls hadn't left the room together, and why one seemed strangely absent now for some unknown reason.

"Well I was able to finally convince her to go for a shower in order to wake herself up better, I hope you two don't mind, she should be out soon enough," Yuma stated nervously, as she wondered if it was okay for Hotaru to use their shower when neither of them had asked if she could.

"Oh no that's fine, we were just wondering how long you two were going to be as all, right Mei?" Yuzu smiled as she came into the dining area, setting down everyone's plates of food, and drinks down on the table, looking to her sister for a moment while Mei just nodded, before she started to eat her breakfast, Yuzu now smiling back to Yuma a moment later.

Yuma just nodded back to Yuzu with a smile, as she thanked the blonde for the food, and started to eat her breakfast happily, before she stopped for a moment and thought. Pushing her food around her plate, and spoke in a low voice, seeming a little downhearted now.

"By the way Yuzu-chan, when you walked in on Hotaru and I last night, it's not what you think, nothing happened between us, she was just getting on my nerves by teasing me so I pinned her to the bed and yelled at her to stop already," Yuma explained anxiously, hoping that Yuzu wouldn't be too bothered by what she saw them doing last night.

"Don't worry about it, you know I had feeling it was all just a misunderstanding, I simply just walked in at the wrong time," Yuzu stated as she sighed slightly at the fact she had been right about her just reading the situation wrong, and nothing had actually happened between the two girls last night. Smiling to Yuma now, and reassuring her that she was now clear on what had happened.

"But Yuzu didn't you tell me that when you walked in Hotaru-san's nightshirt was undone?" Mei now asked, chiming in and causing Yuzu to automatically freeze up, before she looked back to her sister with a slight worried expression.

"Mei!" Yuzu narrowed her eyebrows, as she gave her sister a stern stare, Mei simply just brushing off the stare as she looked back to Yuzu with a blank expression.

"Well yes…you see the nightshirt that you lent to Hotaru last night didn't fit her all that well, so I guess when I got fed up with her antics and pushed down onto the bed, a few of the buttons must have come undone. I swear nothing happened between us, I just told her to go to sleep after you left and she apologised for making me angry before we both went to bed,"

Yuma explained, now speaking clearly and much more calmly, making sure to let Mei and Yuzu know that she was telling the truth right now, even though she did leave out the part where Hotaru hugged her from behind, and they spent the rest of the night holding hands while sleeping together.

"See Mei I told you it was all just a misunderstanding, which I had gotten wrong," Yuzu stated as she still looked to Mei with a slight stern stare, Mei simply just nodding, brushing off the look from her sister again, before she went back to eating her breakfast.

"Yep, just Hotaru teasing me, and playing around with my emotions, nothing new there," Yuma said in a low voice, not seeming to realize that she had actually said it out loud, until she noticed Yuzu now looking to her with a concerned expression.

"Yuma-chan you shouldn't just continue to let Hotaru play around with your feelings like that, isn't it hurtful to you?" Yuzu asked as she really felt for Yuma, looking to her forced smile, and knowing it was just an act, as she desperately wanted to help the other blonde, believing that being with the one you love shouldn't be as hard as it was for her.

"I suppose, but it's not like I could ever leave her right? After all whenever I'm alone with my thoughts, I just want to see her again, almost like it doesn't matter how much she causes me pain or uses me, I'll always come running back to her again,"

Yuma explained as a saddened smile now rested on her lips, looking down to the table, not feeling like holding anything back anymore, while she thought of Hotaru, and couldn't help but feel an ache in her chest, knowing that every word she said was how she really felt about her manipulative childhood friend, who she couldn't ever leave, not even if she wanted to.

Feeling sorry for Yuma, Yuzu sighed slightly, before she stood up from her chair and walked over to the other blonde, standing beside her now, tapping her shoulder as she caught her attention. Smiling to her as she rested a caring hand on her shoulder, while Yuma just looked back to her with a questioning expression.

"You know Yuma I think it's time that you and Hotaru got everything sorted out, and I think that you should tell her how you really feel about her," Yuzu stated, certain that she was going to help Yuma and Hotaru this time.

"Tell her how I feel? But I…I wouldn't even know what to say," Yuma said, feeling a little lost for words at what Yuzu was suddenly saying, how on earth would she tell Hotaru her feelings, and what would she do if Hotaru didn't feel the same.

"Don't worry about that, just leave it to me okay?" Yuzu smiled with a wink, patting Yuma reassuringly on her back, before she then turned to Mei, and was already looking to her with pleading eyes.

"And while I'm talking with Yuma-chan do you think you could talk to Hotaru Mei?" Yuzu asked nervously having a feeling that Mei would flat out say 'no', and she was pretty much right in her thinking.

"Why do I have to talk to her, why can't you do it Yuzu?" Mei asked with a cold stare, Yuzu knowing that clearly Mei didn't want to talk with Hotaru about this sort of thing.

"Because I'm going to be talking with Yuma-chan, so I need you to try and get through to Hotaru for me, she can't play you like she would me after all,"

Yuzu smiled nervously, hoping that Mei would agree to this, but getting the feeling that she wouldn't when she chose to just sit there, and not reply to her anymore, while still giving her that unsettling cold stare, almost like she was seeing into Yuzu's soul right now.

"Yuzu I have work to do, I can't be dealing with someone else's problems right now,"

Mei spoke in what seemed like a tired voice now, her cold stare turning into one of displeasure and loathing, as she really just wanted to go and do her paperwork once she had finished the rest of her breakfast, and not go and talk to Hotaru helping to try and sort out the problems her and Yuma were having.

"I know, but talking to Hotaru will only take a few minutes, and you want to see these two finally work everything out right?" Yuzu asked, trying to persuade Mei to help out, even though she knew she was pushing her luck here and would owe her sister big if she did end up doing this for her.

Mei just stayed silent for a moment, refusing to give an answer, as she didn't want to decide between helping Hotaru and Yuma, or focusing on her own things she needed to get done, she just wanted to get off this subject so she could get on with eating the rest of her breakfast, and then starting her work like she had planned.

"I promise you can go and get your work done straight after you've finished talking to her, and you don't have to say a lot to her, just at least get her to think a little about the relationship that she's in with Yuma-chan right now, and if it's really what she wants," Yuzu explained, hoping that Mei would just give up, in order to be left alone, which Yuzu would definitely do if she agreed to talk to Hotaru for just a few minutes.

Mei sat silent, thinking for a moment as she looked to Yuzu's begging eyes, knowing that if she did say 'no' here the blonde would just continue to pester her until she said 'yes', not leaving her alone until she finally agreed to the idea. And so to save herself a lot more time, Mei sighed heavily deciding to just give in and help out, if it meant that she could go and do the work she needed to do afterwards.

"Fine, I guess it would be nice to see them both happy in their relationship, instead if how they are now," Mei gave in reluctantly, as she agreed to helping Yuma and Hotaru out, causing Yuzu to jump for joy, fist punching the air at her victory,

"YES! Thank you Mei, I really owe you one for this,"

Yuzu smiled as she thanked her sister greatly, while Mei just rolled her eyes slightly, then beginning to question herself on what she was even going to say to Hotaru, as she now went back to silently eating her breakfast. Yuzu and Yuma leaving theirs to be cleaned up later as they went to go and talk in Yuzu and Mei's bedroom for a bit, leaving Mei to now be left alone with her thoughts.

…...

And so once Mei had finished eating her breakfast, and had cleared her plate away in the sink, she now walked down the hallway to her Mother's bedroom, guessing that that was where Hotaru would go to once she was done in the shower. And luckily for her she was right, as she now slowly opened the door, quietly slipping into the room, while she looked to the other dark haired girl, who stood fixing her long hair in the mirror.

Mei stood in the doorway, and saw that Hotaru had not yet noticed her there yet. Although she hadn't really been able to think of anything to say, she guessed she might as well get this over and done with so that she could get to her work quickly enough, taking a deep breath, as she closed the door behind her, making sure it was loud enough to catch Hotaru's attention, while she now stood leaning up against the wood.

"Yuma-chan is that…"

Hotaru paused as the noise of the door closing caught her attention, turning around to face her visitor, only to tilt her head slightly looking to Mei with a wondering expression, as she was puzzled as to why she was here.

"Mei-san?"

Hotaru questioned as she looked to Mei, obviously asking for an explanation for her being here right now, but only getting silence in reply from the other girl, before Mei sighed slightly and looked Hotaru in the eyes, talking to her in a casual, yet serious tone.

"Hotaru-san I need to speak with you,"

"Okay, what about?" Hotaru asked as she now turned to face Mei fully, still looking puzzled, and wondered just what this was all about.

"About Okasaki-san,"

Mei stated standing with her arms folded across her chest now, raising her eyebrow a little as she couldn't work out whether Hotaru was actually going to take this conversation seriously, or if she was going to play her innocent, and oblivious act like Mei was expecting her to do.

"Yuma-chan? Okay go ahead I guess,"

Hotaru answered as she now just walked over to the bed and sat down on it, patting the space next to her for Mei to sit, but Mei just refusing the offer and shaking her head, deciding it was a better choice to just keep standing against the door while talking to Hotaru for now.

"How do you feel about her?" Mei asked, already feeling like she knew how the other girl was going to answer.

"Yuma-chan is my closest friend of course,"

Hotaru simply answered, smiling cheerfully to Mei now while she seemed to be playing her innocent act again, causing Mei to narrow her eyes, and hope that she would at least answer her honestly, and not play dumb throughout all of this.

"If that is all she is to you, then what's this 'relationship' that you have with her?"

"What do you mean Mei-san?" Hotaru asked still obviously acting innocent, while in truth she knew exactly where this was going.

"Yuzu and I caught you two kissing back at the school on that first day that we met, and I don't think two girls do that kind of thing if they see each other as 'just friends'," Mei stated, thinking that Hotaru may just continue to keep up her innocent act, possibly coming up with something that was far from the truth to try and throw her off.

"Right that…well you see Mei-san a while ago Yuma-chan told me that she liked someone, she wouldn't tell me who it was, but she asked in order to make things work with this person…she asked if she could practice with me. And being a good friend, I agreed to helping her out," Hotaru explained, her innocent act still up and alive it seemed, but it was also easy to see that she wasn't lying right now either.

Mei felt like talking to Hotaru was pointless, it was clear to see that all she was doing was stating the facts, while also not letting her true feelings about anything be known, almost like she was telling the whole truth, but was leaving out the fact that she may or may not like the relationship that her and Yuma have. It was like she was talking about two completely different people, rather than herself and her best friend right now.

' _How long is she going to keep this act up for?'_ Mei wondered before she just sighed slightly, walking over to the bed now and sitting beside Hotaru, making the other girl think that she was letting her guard down, when really she was just trying to see if the other girl would let her's down first.

"So what happens when Okasaki-san confesses to this person? Will you be happy for her then?" Mei asked while she sat slouched, looking like she wasn't all that interested anymore, and was merely just asking more questions so that they weren't sitting in silence.

"Well of course I will, as long as Yuma-chan's happy then so will I be," Hotaru happily stated, her bright smile causing Mei's eyes to widen slightly, as she suddenly got a vibe that she wasn't being lied to, but was being shut out instead.

That's what Hotaru was doing right now, she was shutting Mei out, brushing all of her questions off, and just answering them simply like she didn't care. She was refusing to show her real emotions, not letting her feelings be known, and hiding everything behind that innocent smile of her's. It wasn't an act to mess with people, it was a mask to keep people from getting to her, and finding out what lay beneath her polite and kind appearance.

It kinda reminded Mei of herself, but her shield was more of a cold emotionless mask, so no one could guess how she was really feeling, while Hotaru's was one of chipper and delight, leading people astray to think that she was actually fine with everything that was going on in her life right now, when really she was hiding the fact that it wasn't like that at all.

"But what if I told you that Yuma isn't happy right now?" Mei asked, looking back to Hotaru with a blank stare, while causing Hotaru to seem a little confused for a few moments.

"What do you mean Mei-san?"

Hotaru looked to Mei with a wondering expression, feeling like should be weary of the fact that Mei had just called Yuma by her first name, instead of her surname like normal, there was also the fact that she was looking to her with a completely blank expression, almost like she was challenging her to see who's mask would break first.

"What if I told you that she hates the way you tease and mess her around all the time? Would you stop doing those kind of things to her?"

Mei asked, raising an eyebrow when she saw Hotaru flinch a little at the word 'hate', making Mei think for a moment that maybe she had let a small crack break from her mask, but then pushing that thought to the back of her mind, knowing that it wasn't going to be that easy.

"Did Yuma-chan tell you that?"

Hotaru asked her wondering expression still staying the same, seeming completely unfazed by where this conversation was going right now, while seeming to not deny that she didn't know that she was hurting Yuma by doing all of this to her.

"She might have done, but whether she did or not isn't important," Mei simply stated, as she now stood up and walked over to the door, ready to reach for the handle, "Could you do something for me Hotaru-san?" she asked not turning to look to the other girl, but instead just keeping her back to her.

"I guess, what is it?"

Hotaru asked, not really seeing why Mei had come in here to talk to her, and what she may have been hoping to get out of it, but kind of glad that she seemed to be giving up, and leaving the room now.

"Yuma is in my room right now talking with Yuzu, could you go and ask her a question for me?" Mei asked, her tone sounding casual, but the fact that there was no more formalness when it came to Yuma's name anymore was still a little unsettling to Hotaru.

"Sure," Hotaru answered with a nod, wondering why she wanted her to ask Yuma a question, when she could just easily ask her herself.

"Could you ask her why she hasn't left you yet, when all you do is hurt her?"

Mei asked, as she now turned back to Hotaru, wanting to see if her expression would change, but all she saw was the other girl slightly widen her eyes, knowing that it would take a whole lot more for her mask to crumble even just a little bit.

Mei just turned away from Hotaru again, before opening the door and leaving the room, wondering if the other girl would in fact do as she had asked or not, while she made her way into the lounge, and sat down at the coffee table, smiling when finding that Yuzu had laid out all her paperwork for her, so that she could work in the lounge in peace. While she saw the blonde cleaning plates in the kitchen out of the corner of her eye, causing her to guess that she had left Yuma to her thoughts in their room, just like she had done with Hotaru, both of them leaving the rest up to the other two girls to sort out now.

Meanwhile Hotaru now just sat on Yuzu's Mom's bed for a moment, thinking over all of what Mei had said to her, as she leaned forward and sighed, guessing that it wouldn't hurt to go and ask Yuma that question, after all it was something she herself had been wondering about for quite some time now as well.

Standing up slowly, before she walked over to the door and left the room, making her way to Yuzu and Mei's bedroom, not knowing what to expect, but also in no way getting her hopes up for just what Yuma's answer would be.

Knocking on the door lightly and opening it a little, Hotaru peeked into the room, looking around until she saw Yuma sitting upright on the bed, almost looking like she had been waiting for her or something.

"Hey Hotaru," Yuma greeted with a kind smile to the dark haired girl, going over all that Yuzu had said to her a few minutes ago in her mind.

"Where's Yuzu-chan, wasn't she in here talking to you?" Hotaru asked as she walked into the room now, closing the door behind her, while she smiled back to the blonde, but felt anxious when noticing the uncommonly confident aura Yuma had to her right now.

"She went to go and wash the plates from breakfast, and she said that she's saved yours if you want it later," Yuma simply answered taking a deep breath, before she built up all the courage inside of herself.

"Oh okay," Hotaru just nodded slightly in reply.

"Hotaru I think I need to speak with you about something," Yuma stated her voice now clear and clam, as she sat with a confident expression on her face, breathing through her fears, and not letting them get to her and stop her here.

"Okay, but first there was something that Mei-san wanted me to ask you," Hotaru said, sticking to the door like glue almost, acting like she was afraid to part with it,

"Oh okay, what is it?" Yuma asked, seeming a little surprised since she wasn't expecting this, but looked to Hotaru with a kind smile again, waiting for her to ask her Mei's question.

Hesitating a little Hotaru stood in silence for a moment, before sighing deeply and just deciding to get this over with, already taking a couple of guesses as to what Yuma's answer was most probably going to be,

"Yuma-chan, I know I tease and play around with you an awful lot, and I know it makes you angry whenever I play tricks on you, and I can't guarantee that I would stop if you told me to since I know I wouldn't be able to trust myself when I'm around you," Hotaru explained, speaking in a low yet clear voice, her gaze slowly moving from Yuma to the wooden floor, her guard seeming to be dropped and her mask still there but slowly beginning to fade now.

"What do you mean Hotaru?"

Yuma asked as she definitely wasn't expecting all this from the dark haired girl, wondering just what Mei had said to her in order for it to seem that she was actually talking about her own feelings right now, which was something she pretty much never did.

"Yuma, I've caused you so much pain and distress, so why do you continue to keep me as a friend? Why haven't you left me yet, after all I've done to you?" Hotaru asked as she now lifted her head up, an expression of anxiety on her face, as she eagerly awaited the blonde's answer.

Yuma sat speechless for a good while, not knowing what to say or how to react, Hotaru looked like she was almost about to cry in front of her right now, she had never seen this side to her, it was her most vulnerable side that she would never let anyone see normally.

"Well I…I don't want to leave you because…I don't want you to get hurt by Fujiwara again…" Yuma paused nervously, not knowing how to answer, but then shaking her head as she knew that wasn't what the reason really was, or what she really wanted to say right now.

Hotaru just sighed with a smile, hearing what she had expected from the blonde, and knowing she shouldn't have thought it was going to be anything different, so why did she feel like she had just had all her hopes and wishes crushed?

"But that's not the only reason, I also don't want to leave you…because the truth is I just can't, not even if I tried, not even if I wanted to Hotaru. There's just no way I would be able to do such a thing when I feel this way about you," Yuma explained, after another deep breath, now looking back to Hotaru with a reassuring smile.

"What are you saying Yuma-chan?"

Hotaru asked, now seeming a little taken aback, not expecting the blonde to add on to what she had said, and talk to her in what sounded like such a confident tone of voice, knowing that she was telling the truth right now, and not just saying this to make her not feel so depressed anymore or something.

"Well a while ago I told you that I liked someone who wasn't Takeda, but at the time I didn't tell who it was, and I guess it was because I was scared or something back then, I don't know, but Yuzu-chan told me earlier to speak from my heart, and not let my own feelings scare me anymore. So the person that I can't get out of my head, no matter what I try…the person that I like now is you, Hotaru,"

Yuma smiled as she took Yuzu's advice, and spoke from what her heart was clearly telling her right now, knowing that she shouldn't be so afraid to tell the girl she loved how she really felt anymore, especially not since she had been best friends with that girl for so long now.

Hotaru's blue eyes went wide, as she stood at a loss for words, feeling her legs go weak, and dropping to kneel on the bedroom floor, while she tried to make sense of everything that Yuma had just told her inside her head.

"Hotaru, are you okay?"

Yuma asked as she looked to Hotaru with a concerned expression now, wondering if now had really been the best time to tell her how she felt, since right now she seemed a little lost on how to cope with being told all this.

Hotaru didn't answer as she just slumped forward a little, and hid her expression behind her long hair, her shoulders shaking slightly, while a small smile began to form on her lips, her eyes filling with tears, and her heart beating a little faster, as she turned her head back to Yuma and chuckled softly.

The sudden burst of small laughter, causing Yuma to look even more worried now, as she quickly stood from the bed, a little scared for what the other girl would do next, "Hotaru?" the blonde questioned as she really hoped that she hadn't come on too strong right now, nervously wanting Hotaru to just say something to her.

Sighing and recovering slightly Hotaru now sat with her back leaning against the door, smiling while she still couldn't fully get her head around what Yuma had just told her a few moments ago, "I'm such an idiot," she stated, running a hand through her dark hair, before she looked back to Yuma again.

"The signs were all there right in front of me, and I should've realized so much sooner, but I guess I didn't want to get my hopes up, in case I was wrong," Hotaru thought out-loud, as sat slouched against the door, still not totally believing what she had heard Yuma say to her repeating it over and over again in her mind.

Yuma smiled slightly as she could see that Hotaru was fine now, just a little shaken up, as she slowly came and sat down in front of her, cupping her chin, and lifting her head up to look at her now, "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner Hotaru," she spoke in a soft voice, while Hotaru just sat wide-eyed for a moment, before she turned away slightly and went quiet.

"I'm sorry too…because for the longest time, I've hidden my true feelings from you as well Yuma," Hotaru confessed, causing Yuma to look to her with a slightly confused expression, while Hotaru just sat with a blush staining her cheeks, sighing before continuing.

"Yuma I like you too, I've liked you for a long, long time now. When we were kids, I always wanted us to stay together, but when middle school, and then high school came along, the more new friends you made, the more the space between us started to grow and get bigger. And when Takeda asked to be your boyfriend and you agreed to date him, I felt like that was it, I had to let you go, and ignore my feelings for you, I tried to forget how I felt by going out with all kinds of guys that were bad for me, Fujiwara just being one of many, when really I knew deep down inside I was only with them so that I didn't feel so alone without you by my side anymore."

Hotaru explained, her mask now seeming to have completely vanished, as she just sat finally coming out with everything to Yuma, making sure to not leave a single thing out.

"But why did you continue to stay with such terrible guys, all they did was use and hurt you after all right?"

Yuma asked, as she looked to Hotaru with a considerate expression, now thinking it may have been her fault that all this had happened, and maybe she shouldn't have left Hotaru alone so much to hang out with her other friends instead, as she should have been more aware of her best friend's feelings at the time.

"Because I guess I thought I deserved it after all the stuff I was doing to you. I hate the way I have been forcing myself on you all this time, I know it's not right for me to do something like that, but I just couldn't help myself, I can't hold back when I'm around you, and when you gave me a reaction, it gave me hope that maybe you did feel something for me as well, so with that warped logic I continued to tease and play around with your emotions, even though that I knew I was causing you so much pain,"

Hotaru explained feeling guilt weighing down on her, for putting the girl she loved through all this, knowing that it was wrong, but doing it anyway because she hated the fact of loving someone that she knew she couldn't have at the time, wanting to express her feelings to Yuma, even if it meant forcing them on her.

Sitting in silence for a moment Yuma thought over all that Hotaru had just told her, going over it all inside her head, before she looked back to Hotaru again and smiled slightly, "So what was with you constantly kissing me and doing other things to me while we were in public, or when Takeda was around?" she asked, feeling like she already knew the answer.

"Well I guess I wanted to see how far I could take it, before you would stop me, and I also kinda enjoyed messing with Takeda a little,"

Hotaru smiled a little, her smile now like how it normally was except that smile wasn't a polite and innocent one that she used as a mask to hide how she really felt, instead it was one of actually feeling happy for once.

Yuma just chuckled for a moment, sighing as she smiled to Hotaru answering pretty much exactly how she thought she would answer, as the two now just smiled to each other, before Yuma thought for a moment, looking to Hotaru with a worried expression on her face.

"What are we going to do now then?"

Hotaru paused for a moment, thinking, while she saw Yuma's expression of worry, knowing that it wasn't going to be smooth sailing from here just because they had both told each other how they really feel.

"I'll talk to Fujiwara," Hotaru stated after a short pause, looking confident now, as she knew Fujiwara wouldn't take too well to being dumped, but she wasn't scared of him, not after all he had done to her by now.

"I'll talk to him too," Yuma said, not wanting Hotaru to get hurt by Fujiwara, so she thought that if she was there she could protect Hotaru, and she wouldn't have to get hurt again just to have a shot at finally being happy.

"No Yuma, I don't want you getting hurt," Hotaru shook her head, refusing to let Yuma possibly get hurt because of her again.

"I don't want you getting hurt either Hotaru," Yuma smiled as she leaned forward and moved to sit beside Hotaru now, wrapping her arms around her waist and hugging her tightly, while she rested a hand over her's, Hotaru looking back to her surprised.

"We'll talk to him together alright?" Yuma stated as she let Hotaru know that she didn't have to do this alone anymore like she had been up until now.

"Alright,"

Hotaru replied with a nod, giving in as she could see that Yuma wasn't taking 'no' for an answer right now, and so just sighed as she relaxed in the blonde's embrace, resting her head against Yuma's chest, and smiling with she heard her heart was starting to race right now.

Yuma smiling down to Hotaru, before she lifted her head up and rested her forehead against her's, grabbing hold of her hand, as she leaned in slightly. Hotaru seemed surprised at first, sitting frozen until she thought and soon realized that there was no reason for her to hold back anymore, closing her eyes as she interlocked her fingers with Yuma's and leaned into her as well.

The two closing the small gap between them, as they now sat on the floor together, kissing deeply, while both smiling at the thought that there was no more hiding between them now, and they could finally be together, even though the road ahead of them was definitely going to be a long one no doubt.

…

Early afternoon was now setting in as Mei and Yuzu stood at the front door along with Hotaru and Yuma, while Yuzu's Mother had returned home from her work, and was in the kitchen making Mei and Yuzu lunch. Yuzu and Mei saying their goodbyes to the other two as they were just about to leave now.

"Really thank you for letting us stay here, and also for helping me and Hotaru finally tell each other what we really needed to," Yuma thanked Mei and Yuzu for everything that they had helped her and Hotaru with, smiling to them both happily, while Yuzu beamed back to her and Mei just nodded kindly to the blonde.

"Don't mention it, we're just glad that you two were able to work through everything finally," Yuzu stated with a smile, looked to Mei for agreement, as she just nodded back slightly feeling like she was slowly starting to warm up to Yuma now, but was still a little sceptical of Hotaru.

"I never could have done it without your help, and Mei-san I'm not sure what you said to Hotaru, but thank you I think you were actually able to get through to her," Yuma stated speaking in a low voice so that Hotaru wouldn't hear while she was talking to Fujiwara on her phone by the front door, arranging for where he would be picking them up from.

Mei just nodded, a small smile making its way onto her lips, as she was actually kind of glad that she had agreed to help Yuma and Hotaru now, even though she wasn't exactly sure what it was that she had said to get through to Hotaru.

Yuzu just smiled to her sister, patting her back and nodding to her with pride, as Mei just looked back to her with a blank stare, "See I knew getting you to talk to Hotaru was a good idea," Yuzu said proudly, while Mei just rolled her eyes slightly in reply.

"And good luck with that shady boyfriend of Hotaru's, Yuma-chan," Yuzu said as she looked back to Yuma again now, smiling to her as she got a nod in reply from the other blonde.

"Yeah thanks, I'm sure we're going to need it,"

Yuma smiled back, as she glanced to Hotaru and sighed a little, hoping that things wouldn't be too bad with Fujiwara once they talked to him about everything, and no doubt they just might have to tell Takeda about it all soon as well.

"We best be going now Yuma-chan," Hotaru now chimed in as she came walking over to Yuma and the other two, having just finished talking to Fujiwara, and had put her phone back into her pocket.

"Okay, well I guess this is goodbye," Yuma stated as she sighed slightly, smiling still, but seemed a little sad to be leaving.

Yuzu's beaming smile, now suddenly formed into a frown as she looked to Hotaru and Yuma with a worried expression, "You'll come back to visit again soon though right?" she asked, really not wanting this to be the last time they saw the two, and hoping that they would see them again soon.

"You kidding? Of course we'll come back, you can't get rid of us that easily,"

Hotaru stated with a wink while Yuma just nodded in agreement, Yuzu sighing with relief that she would get to see them again soon, and knowing that this was only a 'Goodbye for now', and not a 'Goodbye forever'.

"Besides I still need to help you two out with getting further in your relationship remember,"

Hotaru pointed out with her classic innocent smile, Yuma just smiling nervously, as Yuzu augured that they didn't need the help, while Mei just stood by and sighed slightly, glad that her life would hopefully not be so bothersome now that Yuma and Hotaru were leaving, and she didn't have to help them with their problems anymore. Although she did feel like she would miss them being around a little, even though she hadn't known them for very long.

And with a few more exchanges of 'goodbyes', and 'see you soons' between the four girls, Hotaru and Yuma were soon leaving out the door to go and make their way to where they had arranged to meet up with Fujiwara, so he could come and take them back home, while Yuzu and Mei stood at the door waving happily, until the other two were out of sight.

The two sisters smiling to each other a moment after Hotaru and Yuma had gone, before closing the door, and walking back into the dining area to have lunch along with their Mother, Yuzu already thinking about, and planning the next time that they could meet up with Hotaru and Yuma again, while Mei just chose to let her life go back to normal again, glad with the fact that she could actually focus on her own school and paperwork now, without having people stopping her from doing so, well other than Yuzu like normal of course.

Both of the sisters knowing that they would see Hotaru and Yuma again very soon no doubt, and actually feeling kinda glad for that this time, now that they wouldn't have to worry about helping them anymore.

….

The rest of the day seemed to fly by in a flash to Yuzu and Mei, as they had now both had dinner with their Mother, had a bath together, and now were laying in their bed together, ready to go to sleep, Mei just wanting to rest and get back what she had lost last night, because of her sister and their friends, while Yuzu's mind was still buzzing with all that had been happening lately, and how she was now excited to plan another meet up with Hotaru and Yuma.

"Oh I can't wait to see them again," Yuzu squealed happily as she couldn't stop smiling at her excitement of seeing and hanging out with their newest friends again soon.

"Neither can I,"

Mei just sighed as she guessed that she wouldn't be getting much sleep after all tonight, as it seemed like Yuzu was too excited to go to sleep right now, almost like she was a little kid on Christmas Eve, unable to sleep because the excitement of the presents she would be waking up to, and opening in the morning.

"And this time I can ask Harumin and Matsuri to come and join us,"

"Sure,"

"We could even invite Momokino-san, and maybe Nene could come and meet them too,"

"Uh-huh,"

"Oh this is so exciting, Mei aren't you excited too?" Yuzu now looked to Mei, smiling happily, while Mei was still laying with her back to Yuzu, rolling her eyes at her sister.

"I'm absolutely ecstatic," Mei simply replied back with a tired yawn, hoping that she would just fall asleep and Yuzu's blabbering would just fade to background noise soon enough.

Yuzu smiled as she looked to Mei with a raised eyebrow, knowing that she actually didn't care and was only replying back so that she could finally get some sleep once Yuzu was done with her rambling.

"You know I really am glad that we were able to help them both," Yuzu stated glancing to Mei, and waiting for her to reply back with that same bored and uninterested tone.

"So am I," Mei's half-hearted reply came.

"And you know I believe they helped us too in some ways," Yuzu raised her eyebrow, wondering how Mei was going to answer this time.

"Yep I'm sure they did,"

Mei simply replied with another yawn, before she realized what Yuzu had actually said, and rubbed her tired eyes, turning over and looking to Yuzu a moment later, "Wait, how do think they 'helped' us?" she asked, as she was a little taken aback since Yuzu had kept saying that 'they didn't need the help' to Hotaru pretty much this whole time.

"Well I got the chance to see that you don't mind being told what to do, and having Hotaru around actually got you to be more open with me than you normally are," Yuzu explained with a smile, as she folded her arms behind her head, and winked to her girlfriend.

Mei sighed slightly as she slowly sat up in the bed, staring down to Yuzu now, leaning over her a moment later, not speaking for a good while, causing Yuzu to feel a little uneasy, a slight blush now creeping onto her cheeks.

"And I now know how to get you stop pestering me all the time…" Mei paused leaning down to Yuzu, "…isn't that right Onee-chan?" She whispered into Yuzu's ear, causing Yuzu to shiver slightly as she just laid still, blushing deeply while sighed nervously once Mei had pulled away from her a minute later.

Mei giving a small smile down to Yuzu, then moving to lay back down again and go to sleep, only for Yuzu to suddenly pull her back down, and bring her into a deep kiss. Mei being a little taken aback at first before she just closed her eyes and kissed Yuzu back, allowing her to roll her over and now be the one on top, the blonde now laying on top of Mei as their lips parted, and Yuzu just lay smiling to her sister happily.

"I love you Mei,"

Yuzu whispered as she rested her forehead against Mei's, smiling as she waited for a reply, gazing into her girlfriend's lavender eyes. While Mei just stared back to her with a wondering expression before she leaned into her more, and pecked just above her right eye, causing Yuzu to chuckle a little in response.

"I love you too Yuzu,"

Mei replied, pulling away again so that she could continue to look at Yuzu in the eye, the two sharing a peaceful few more moments of quiet while they just let themselves get lost in one another's eyes, before they both leaned in again.

Mei grabbing onto Yuzu's collar as she pulled her closer to her. And Yuzu happily wrapping her arms around Mei, kissing her again, and smiling when Mei immediately kissed her back.

Their loving kiss soon deepening, while they both held onto each other tightly, Mei guessing that it was clearly going to be a good while before either of them would be getting any sleep tonight, but thinking that it might be alright just for this once.

After all they didn't have any school in the morning, and could just enjoy their night together for now wrapped in each other's warm embrace, until they would eventually fall to sleep in one another's loving arms, knowing that when they awoke in the morning, there wasn't anything for them to worry about anymore and they could just get on with their lives from here on out.

 **...**

 **Just so you all know this is the last chapter for this story. But fear not, I already have a sequel in mind, and this time there will be plenty more of the whole Citrus gang joining in on the fun as well. I had a lot of fun writing this fic, and can't wait to start writing the sequel (I ALREADY HAVE SO MANY IDEAS!).**

 **Thank you all for reading/following/reveiwing/favouriting this story, you're all amazing people and I love you all! Hope to hear from you all again in the sequel. ^_^**

 **Killerchainsaw ;)**


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